#France canceling Israel's participation in a major defense exhibition.
The #Maldives banning Israeli citizens from entering the country.
A British coffee shop chain, Pret a Manger, canceling its franchise agreement with an Israeli company.
McDonald's facing a boycott in some countries due to its Israeli operations.
The Israeli hi-tech industry, which is a significant contributor to the country's economy, is also being affected by the boycotts.
[...] "McDonald's network also faced a pro-Palestinian boycott that hurt its sales worldwide, according to its reports. In April, the global network acquired the Israeli operation, which consists of 225 branches, from franchisee Omri Padan, [...] McDonald's entry into Israel was one of the harbingers of the end of the Arab boycott that Israel had faced since its establishment. The acquisition of the Israeli operation by the global network was intended to reduce friction between the network and Muslim customers worldwide - among other things, by reducing the identification of the local operation with IDF soldiers and the captives held in Gaza [...] After October 7, Padan led an unprecedented operation of offering a 50% discount to soldiers in uniform at all network branches - and this increased the pressure on the global network. Estimates are that after the deal is completed, McDonald's will reduce or cancel the discount - in the hope of weakening the criticism and boycott against it worldwide."
Possible long-term effects these boycotts will have on the Israeli economy: higher living costs and reduced competitiveness. But the Israeli government's policies and actions are leading to increased international isolation and economic damage, and Israelis will, ultimately, bear the costs of these decisions.
Two upcoming online lectures next Tuesday, 14 May (alas, their times overlap).
Here's the first, sponsored by the Celtic Studies Association of North America: Sarah Waidler (NYU) will speak on ‘Arthur, Authority and the Saints Revisited’ at 12 noon EDT (= 5 pm BST).
Frederick Douglass visited Ireland in the decades before the American Civil War, where he met Daniel O'Connell, Ireland's nationalist leader and a vocal critic of slavery. “I am the friend of liberty in every clime, class and colour. My sympathy with distress is not confined within the narrow bounds of my own green island. No — it extends itself to every corner of the earth," O'Connell said at a meeting of his Repeal Association that Douglass attended in September 1845. Here's a look at how his words influenced Douglass's activism: "Agitate, agitate, agitate."