30% Support the Boycott Israel Campaign, but Aren’t Actively Boycotting Products

The war in Palestine has been happening for decades, but the situation escalated after Hamas, a Palestinian resistance group, attacked Israel. However, Israel’s response led to the deaths of more than 25,000 Palestinians.

As a way to show solidarity with Palestine, people from various countries called for a “Boycott Israel” campaign. The campaign calls to boycott brands that support Israel, whether by explicitly saying that or by giving help to Israel.

Real Research surveyed the public to gauge awareness of the impact of boycotting on the economy and their opinions on the campaign.

Highlights:

• 30.2% support the Boycott Israel Campaign but aren’t actively boycotting products.
• 52.03% disagree with companies expressing their political stances on international conflicts.
• Local businesses feel the impact of boycott more than multinational franchises, said 36.52%

Gaza War Boycott:

Since the escalation of the situation in Palestine in October 2023, people have started calling for boycotting Israeli goods and pro-Israel brands. 40.85% were vaguely familiar with this boycott Israel campaign, 39.58% were very aware, and 19.57% were unaware.

The majority (37.12%) seem to be somewhat supportive of the Boycott Israel Campaign as a means of expressing solidarity with Palestinians. 30.2% stated that they were supportive but not actively boycotting products, 24.82% weren’t supportive, and only 7.87% were supporting the campaign and actively boycotting products.

Based on the current understanding of the situation, 36.93% were somewhat unlikely to participate in the Boycott Israel Campaign. The remaining opinions were very unlikely (27.65%), somewhat likely (25.95%), and very likely (9.47%).

Who’s Really Feeling the Impact of the Boycott?

Many have engaged in online debates about the effectiveness of such boycotts, which some see as harming the livelihoods of local workers employed by franchises. 36.52% stated that local businesses felt the impact of the boycott more than multinational corporations, 33.95% believed it was more or less equal, and 29.53% believed that multinational corporations felt it more.

The majority don’t agree with companies expressing their political stance on international conflicts. The survey showed that 41.1% somewhat disagree, 31.05% somewhat agree, 16.92% strongly agree, and 10.93% strongly disagree with the above.

Are Boycotts Worth It?

Individual consumers have a moderate influence on shaping corporate policies through boycotts, according to 43.47%. The rest claimed it had minor influence (32.25%), no influence at all (15.93%), and major influence (8.35%).

Additionally, 51.18% believe economic pressure on companies targeted by the Boycott Israel Campaign will lead to minor positive change. In detail, 22.63% claimed it wouldn’t lead to any positive change, 19.57% thought it might lead to a moderate positive change, and a small percentage of 6.62 believed it would lead to a significant positive change.

42.2% were somewhat aware of the specific companies and products listed in the Boycott Israel Campaign, 30.52% were extremely aware, and 27.28% weren’t aware at all.