Did you know these American companies are funding the Israel-Palestine war?
What is the worst thing about it? They’re using U.S. taxpayers’s money to do it!
You have probably heard about the fact that some companies are funding the Israel-Palestine war. However, how true is this, and how much of it is made up by people trying to boycott different corporations?
The reality is somewhere in the middle, as there are quite a number of U.S. companies in the middle that are known to give their money to the Israeli state.
Whatever these private companies do is not anyone’s business, yet at one point, when they are using U.S. taxpayer money in order to achieve these goals, many people start to have an issue with these companies.
No matter your stance on this high-stakes combat, it is good to know why some people have started to boycott a number of U.S. companies and be in the know as to where your hard-earned tax money is going.
What is your opinion on this matter? Do you think it is fair that American tax money is funding these companies, who then use it for a war half around the globe? Share your opinions in the comments!
Ford Motor Company
While it may seem like people who participate in boycotts like to point out random companies and say they have helped in one war or another, in the case of Ford, it is true.
The U.S. automaker has made changes to their commercial pickup trucks, such as retrofitting and armoring them so that the Israeli military can use them for war purposes.
While there are many automotive companies that have made this choice, Ford is among the few American companies that have decided to go down this road.
Since their Super Duty F-350 XL pickup trucks have even been used as the base cars for other companies’ armored and attack vehicles, a large number of members of the public have decided to boycott the company and no longer buy their products.
The companies that use this Ford model as a base include AM General, Oshkosh, and Plasan.
Those who have organized the boycotts (the BDM movement) mention that back on December 6, a cargo plane with Ford-modeled SandCat vehicles flew to Israel.
Valero Energy Corporation
While much of the public is not aware of all the oil and gas companies, this United States-based one has been the focus of another corporation’s boycott efforts.
They have targeted this specific company due to the fact that ever since the start of the war, they have supplied the Israeli Air Force with military-grade jet fuel (the JP-8, if you are familiar with these codes) every other month.
Besides their opposition to the fact that they are supplying another country in their war efforts, the organizers are also bringing to light the fact that Valero Energy Corporation also uses part of U.S. taxpayers’ money in order to make these shipments.
The company gets tax aid from the government, and this is seen as a breach of trust towards American taxpayers.
These shipments have been documented starting with October 2023, and they report that these shipments have been made every other month from their Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery (Bill Greehey) all the way to Ashkelon, Israel.
However, it is good to keep in mind that the Israeli Air Force uses both the jet fuel from these shipments and their own country ‘s-made one, which is produced by Paz Oil.
If you want to know more about how U.S. taxpayer’s money is going towards fossil fuel subsidies, check out the opening statement of Sen. Whitehouse’s 2023 hearing “Who Pays the Price: The Real Cost of Fossil Fuels.“.
Google and other tech giants
It may come as a surprise, but Google has been reportedly using its services for war purposes.
Google Photos has been reported to be used by Israel, with the facial recognition feature it provides being used as a way to conduct mass surveillance of the Palestinians who are still residing in Gaza.
The New York Times has unveiled that Israeli officials have uploaded their known person database to the Google Photos service and then used the identify people function in order to try to go through mass surveillance.
There is even an official on record admitting to using it with this use in mind due to Goofle having the best tech that does this type of identification.
Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform have also been targeted since they have been involved in developing a tech project with the Israeli state.
People opposed to the war have been dissatisfied with these findings, and they have started to boycott the company in order to put pressure on it.
Others are not sure how effective this would be, since Google has a huge reach and a lot of users rely on their services too much in order to be able to boycott.
Chevron and Chevron-owned Noble Energy
Another US fossil fuel multinational, Chevron, has also been targeted by boycotts and is under scrutiny from activist groups.
The reason they have been targeted is because they are the main corporation that operates internationally and extracts gas claimed by Israel in the East Mediterranean.
The groups see this extraction made in the name of apartheid and thus consider it both immoral and illegal since they do not believe the land belongs to Israel.
Chevron-owned Noble Energy and the parent company Chevron are making billions of dollars from their operations overseas, and it is seen as strengthening the Israel side of the war while also continuing their actions that contribute strongly to the climate crisis.
While some are pointing to the alleged illegal extraction, others are very much focused on the exacerbating climate crisis brought forward by fuel and gas mining and processing.
Grassroot boycotts
While there are many other big organized boycotts and you can check out the named boycotts online, there are also a lot of grassroots organic boycott campaigns organized by many countries.
The most commonly named ones are the ones that are mentioned, including the ones that have stemmed from the United States, and they name popular chains that are seen as sympathetic to the “apartheid and genocide system of Israel.”.
The most popular brands and chains that have been named in the boycott include the likes of popular fast food chains Pizza Hut, Burger King, McDonald’s, and Papa John’s, along with the biggest coffee shop chain, Starbucks.
There has been a lot of backlash towards these restaurants, with many refusing to purchase their foods or use their services (as this has also happened to giants such as WIX and AirBnB), with celebrities and famous people being hounded online and shamed if they are seen endorsing, promoting, or using these services.
Popular activist groups like the BDS movement support these boycott campaigns, especially the companies that have opened franchises and branches in Israel, along with those whose CEOs and directors have expressed direct support for Israel’s war efforts, be it in sentiment or monetarily.
Despite these actions seemingly not having much effect, a McDonald’s franchisee located in Malaysia has sued, using SLAPP law, the activists, claiming they have been defamed by their efforts.
It seems like these huge corporations are ready to sue all their critics for exercising their rights and criticizing them.
What do you think about all these boycotts? Do you think they are effective or useful? Share your thoughts!
If you want to get a different perspective on this conflict we recommend you read this book.
No matter what you are reading or hearing about, make sure that you do not end up being manipulated by people who want to use you. If you want to stay safe and make sure bad actors do not sway you, check out this article: Beware of These 8 Sneaky Political Manipulation Tactics!
