[COMMUNICATED] After the massive impact of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce’s Starbucks Boycott announcement stating “Drinking a cup of Starbucks is Drinking a Cup of Jewish Blood,” Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, reached out to Duvi Honig to discuss his ongoing support for Israel and his strong condemnation of the 300 union stores and its 3000 employees who support Hamas.
Duvi Honig, representing the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, expressed his concerns about having Starbucks employees who support Hamas serving beverages to customers.
During the conversation, it was made clear by the Chambers leadership that a statement alone would not be sufficient to address the issue and remove the boycott, as the boycott was not on the corporate level but on the union workers themselves.
Duvi suggested that Howard should close down the stores in question, but Mr. Schultz explained that it would be illegal for him to do so. However, he expressed his desire to close down every single one of those stores and terminate the employment of those who support Hamas, if he had the power to do so.
The company also sent out a text message to all its employees immediately after the conversation, reaffirming its condemnation of terrorism and hate, clarifying that the statements made by Workers do not represent the views, positions, or beliefs of Starbucks and legal action would be taken against them if they do so.
The message acknowledged the firm position of the companies policy against supporting Hamas and warned of the spread of misinformation that Starbucks supports terror.
In addition to the text, the chamber suggested that legal action should be taken to sue the establishments for using the powerful Starbucks commerce name.
Mr. Schultz and the corporate leaders of Starbucks immediately agreed to pursue this course of action having Starbucks file the lawsuit immediately the next morning which it shared with the Chamber immediately after filing, and reads as follows:
Dear Duvi,
Today, Starbucks filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in Davenport, Iowa.
As the violence against the innocent in the region continues, some people are mistakenly tying these remarks to us, because Workers United and its affiliates and members continue to use our name, logo and intellectual property.
The actions taken by the union have nothing to do with its representation of the minority of partners who voted for them to bargain on their behalf. In fact, their continued statements have led to Starbucks partners, including some they represent, being threatened and subjected to graphic messages.
Workers United President Lynne Fox rejected our request to take steps to ensure clarity and protect our partners. So, today’s action is a necessary step in defense of our partners and our company.
Additionally, The Chamber requested from Mr. Schultz that Starbucks provide the chamber with a list of all 300 unionized stores to ensure transparency and to help customers avoid being served their beverages from supporting Hamas sympathizers and their Starbucks locations.
During the heartfelt conversation, Mr. Schultz emphasized how he is a student of Rabbi Finkel from the Mir and reiterated his identity as a supporter of Israel with a Jewish soul.
Duvi highlighted their shared backgrounds, as both of their parents settled in Brooklyn Canarsie after the Holocaust and had their cheeks pinched by the same survivors whose faces lit up when they saw a child of a survivor. Howard emphasized that they stood together in their fight against anti-Semitism, echoing the sentiment of “NEVER AGAIN.”
The Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce applauds Starbucks Corporate leadership which took immediate action filing a lawsuit against the union workers who support Hamas immediately and banned them from using the company’s name and logo.
Starbucks made it clear that the actions and statements of Workers United belong solely to them and do not reflect the company’s stance or principles. Despite previous attempts to resolve the issue peacefully, Starbucks decision to take legal action to defend its corporate reputation and identify the stores who they are suing for support of Hamas and Jewish blood shed.
Starbucks corporate will share a list with the Chamber of the stores to avoid and are working Unitedly to take a firm stance against the 300 union stores and their employees who support Hamas.
Through legal action and clear communication with employees, Starbucks aims to dissociate itself from Workers United and ensure the safety and well-being of its partners.
This demonstrates the company’s commitment to its core values, including opposition to terrorism and hate, and support for Israel.
In this the Chamber applauds Starbucks and its leadership for owning up to taking immediate action saying NEVER AGAIN!
Never Again proved to be untrue on shabbos shmini atzeres. Repeating the slogan again and again doesn’t do anything to protect us from those who hate us literally to death. The only protection we have is from Above when He wants us to be protected.
what is starbucks offering us? bad taste? poor taste? poor excuses?
we have the same coffee or better right here in town in the neighborhood coffee shops with friendly friends and clean cups both on the inside and on the outside.
Problem is that, although Starbucks, last week, criticized the workers’ union pro-Hamas social media post, Starbucks then issued a statement of its own expressing sympathy for “those who have been killed… and impacted following the… escalating violence and hate against the innocent in Israel and Gaza.” Which means Starbucks is equating Israel’s counter measures in Gaza to Hamas’s barbaric, cold-blooded and sadistic, murderous attacks. I would ask Duvi Honig to take a look at that statement from last week. Then he needs to ask Mr. Schultz whether he believes it was an acceptable statement, and whether Mr. Schultz believes supporters of Israel can enjoy a Starbucks coffee after reading statements like that.
Make your own coffee at home & save the floose.