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Disney Sees Backlash, Boycott for Support of Israel

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Posted on by Jess Colopy 6 Comments
Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, looks seriously in front of the flags of Palestine & Israel.

Credit: Inside the Magic

A Disney boycott continues to gain popularity after the corporation donated millions of dollars to Israel last month.

Just days after the October 7 Hamas attack killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds of hostages, Disney donated $2 million to organizations providing humanitarian aid to Israel. Other corporations like Starbucks and Walmart followed suit.

“In the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks targeting Jews in Israel this past weekend, we must all do what we can to support the innocent people experiencing so much pain, violence, and uncertainty — particularly children,” The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger said.

Bob Iger in front of the Disney logo
Credit: Disney

More than a month after the initial attack, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have killed at least 11,000 Palestinian civilians in bombings and ground attacks on occupied Gaza. 1 out of every 200 Palestinians have died, and most are displaced from their homes. Many of the victims are children – half of Palestine’s 2.3 million citizens are under 18.

Human Rights Watch called Gaza the world’s “largest open-air prison,” as it was difficult for Palestinians to leave even before October 7. Now, it’s impossible.

Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger in front of Cinderella Castle
Credit: Inside the Magic

Israel states its attacks on Palestine are targeted only at Hamas militants and headquarters, many of which they claim are underneath hospitals, schools, and religious sites. Hamas reportedly offered the safe return of all hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire, but Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has yet to accept.

A director at the United Nations (U.N.) called Israel’s attack on Gaza a “textbook genocide.” Another U.N. employee called it a “mass ethnic cleansing.”

Supporters of Israel argue Gazans should heed warnings from Israel to evacuate. Netanyahu called dead civilians “collateral damage” and argued that a ceasefire would only incite Hamas to attack Israelis again.

Bob Iger with Barbara Walters
Credit: Disney

As calls for a ceasefire grow and millions protest worldwide, many are boycotting companies that donated to Israeli relief efforts – including Disney.

“stop donating money to Palestine,” @plussizeotd wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “It is not reaching them. continue to boycott starbucks, mcdonalds and disney. keep talking about Palestine. keep educating ignorant people. that is how you make a difference.” 

As Disney promotes new content and Disney Parks experiences, many activists encourage Palestine supporters to continue boycotting.

“watching the people on here be like ‘stop supporting disney+!’ then turn around on their word once they release new content,” said @rinsuxart. “my reminder to those that care about palestine; disney donated 2 million to Israel.”

“‘free palestine boycott disney’ doesn’t stop when the percy jackson series comes out btw :\,” @elwashell echoed.

But others pointed out that activist groups recommend targeting only a few companies with boycotts. The rest, including Disney, are listed as “pressure (non-boycott) targets” and “divestment targets.”

“You can choose to boycott disney but the *main* goal regarding large corporations like disney, google, amazon is to put pressure on them, because it is difficult to reliably boycott them,” @CAngel444 explained. “The consumer boycott targets ate the *main* ones that you should focus on as an individual.”

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