In recent years, the connection between fast food and geopolitics has become the topic of closer consideration due to the growing awareness of the broader consequences of their food choices by customers. One of the concerns that has raised much discussion is the support that some of the giant fast-food restaurants provide to Israel, either through partnerships, donations, or the conduct of business.
This blog explores which well-known fast food chains have ties to Israel and how these ties affect consumer behavior, public opinion, and current discussions about corporate responsibility in international wars. It has been reported that several large fast-food franchises assist Israel in many ways, including by operating in Israel, making donations, or forming alliances with Israeli businesses or the military.
Top 5 fast food places that support Israel
Based on the most recent data, the following provides a thorough explanation of fast food chains’ support for Israel:
1. McDonald
McDonald’s Israel made a public announcement when the conflict broke out in October 2023 that it would be providing thousands of free meals every day to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), police, hospitals, people living in the vicinity of Gaza, and rescue personnel. McDonald’s Israel once claimed to have donated tens of thousands of meals and to be delivering about 4,000 meals per day to conflict-affected civilians and security forces. Additionally, they gave military and security people who visited their eateries a 50% discount.
By declaring that it does not support or finance any countries engaged in the conflict and that the donations were made by the local franchise on its initiative without corporate consent, the international McDonald’s Corporation disassociated itself from the conduct of its Israeli franchisee. McDonald’s voiced worry about the conflict’s human cost and reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining its neutrality.
2. Burger King
After its Israeli franchisee, Orgad Holdings, acquired the regional brand Burgeranch and transformed all Burger King stores into Burgeranch restaurants, Burger King, which had originally entered the Israeli market in 1993, discontinued operations in 2010. Under a new franchise group, Burger King made a comeback in Israel in 2016. By 2023, it had grown to about 16 sites, primarily in Tel Aviv and the surrounding areas. Ten or so of these locations are kosher, adhering to regional dietary regulations.
Since 2022, the well-known Israeli corporation Delek Group has acquired the majority of the Israeli Burger King franchise. Because of its local ownership, Burger King Israel sources its goods locally and supports the Israeli economy. The franchise will infiltrate the brand into the local market since it will be operating under Israeli laws and business standards.
Having plans to open as many as 50 restaurants in the five years since its 2016 re-entry into the country, Burger King Israel has been expanding rapidly since that time, with a focus on direct ownership rather than franchising. The brand competes with McDonald’s and Burger King in terms of price and menu items offered and has both kosher and non-kosher restaurants to reach as many consumers as possible.
3. Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is the largest pizza chain in Israel, where it is operated under a local franchise, Pizza Hut Israel, which manages a massive number of outlets, 56 as of 2014 and about 78 as of 2016, in the country. The company serves the local preferences, so along with the regular deep-dish and thin-crust pizzas, salads, and desserts, it proposes kosher products. A considerable number of its stores also bear a higher level of kashrut certification.
Pizza Hut can serve Israeli customers while preserving its worldwide brand identity due to the franchising model. Pizza Hut Israel has a big cultural presence in Israel’s fast-food industry and makes economic contributions by paying taxes and creating jobs.
Pizza Hut has permitted franchises to open in West Bank Israeli settlements, which are prohibited by international law. In 2012, it also approved the opening of the first Pizza Hut in Ramallah to be owned by Palestinians. Calls for worldwide boycotts of Pizza Hut have been sparked by the company’s presence in these contentious areas.
Pizza Hut Israel received criticism in 2017 after a contentious tweet ridiculed Palestinian inmates who were on a hunger strike. The business dismissed the offending PR firm, removed the advertisement, and issued an apology. Pizza Hut was accused of giving Israeli military members free pizza after pictures of Israeli soldiers with Pizza Hut boxes surfaced in early 2023. The BDS movement and pro-Palestinian activists launched new boycott efforts as a result.
4. Starbucks
Starbucks has been without any outlets in Israel since 2003. The corporation cut its links with the Israeli franchise due to market challenges and not political factors. Starbucks has over 35,000 branches across the world, several of them in the Middle East and other countries with Muslims as the majority population, but this has not made the company less of a household name.
The corporation says that it has never facilitated a military or government activity in any of the conflicts, not even in the one involving Israel and Gaza. These boycotts intensified after a fake letter claiming that Starbucks had given money to the Israeli military became popular on the Internet. The company has announced that such allegations are unfounded and condemns violence on any level. Among some of the largest shareholders of Starbucks are holdings in Israeli military contractors, although the company itself denies any direct help. As an example, The Vanguard Group holds a major stake in Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer, and is the owner of about 7.7 percent of Starbucks shares. In the same manner, BlackRock is a huge shareholder in Lockheed Martin, an American military contractor that sells fighter jets to Israel and holds about 7.2 percent of Starbucks shares.
5. KFC
KFC first tried to enter the Israeli market in the 1980s, but operational challenges compelled the company to shut down its outlets. It went back to Israel in 1993 and established its first branch in Rishon Lezion. It operated intermittently until 2012,when it shut down all its locations. Making it the fourth attempt to enter the Israeli market, KFC launched a restaurant in Nazareth in 2020 and aims to open 20 locations across the country by 2024 in such major cities as Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beer Sheva. The present KFC Israel locations do not provide kosher certification, in contrast to earlier attempts, enabling them to stick to the original fried chicken recipe, which calls for milk powder.
Two franchisees, one owned by an Arab and the other by a Russian, share control of KFC Israel’s operations. Mefco, the Arab franchisee, recently closed eight of its outlets, mostly in Arab communities and northern Israel, citing declining sales and financial issues made worse by ongoing regional turmoil. The Russian franchisee is still in charge of the remaining 12 outlets. Being a global brand, KFC has avoided giving any official statements concerning the conflict between Israel and Palestine and has remained neutral about political issues.
Due to its activities and existence in Israel, however, boycotts have been imposed on it, especially in countries where most of the population is made up of Muslims and other pro-Palestinian lobby groups, which feel that any company operating in Israel is indirectly supporting the Israeli government.
Why do fast food chains support Israel?
In times of war, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers have been offered free meals or special discounts in some businesses, most notably Pizza Hut Israel and Burger King Israel. As an example, images that Pizza Hut Israel posted indicated that soldiers on military outposts were getting free pizza, and this led to enormous boycott movements. Activist reaction is driven by allegations of political partiality, as this practical support to Israeli forces is perceived to be giving credence to Israeli military activities.
