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Boycotts in Turkey over Israel’s war in Gaza spread to Coca-Cola, Nescafe

While the Turkish Parliament stopped the sale of certain multinational brands in its cafeterias, several universities have said they will no longer collaborate with Israeli academia until a cease-fire is reached.

Nescafe
Nestle's Nescafe coffee products sit on the shelf at a Target store in New York City, May 7, 2018. — Drew Angerer/Getty Images

ANKARA — Protests against Israel in Turkey are growing as the Turkish Parliament, several universities and local municipalities joined the boycott against major multinational brands over their alleged support of Israel’s war against Hamas.  

Turkey’s parliament stopped its cafeterias from selling products made by multinational companies this week, claiming that they support “Israeli aggression.” Parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus announced the decision in Turkey’s Black Sea region, calling on citizens to follow suit. 

“We will not use any products of the companies that support the Israeli aggression that are used in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. We will not buy them from now on, and we will scrap those products that we had already bought,” Kurtulmus was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu News Agency. 

Kurtulmus stopped short of naming brands, but Coca-Cola and Nescafe products were removed from the parliament’s restaurant and cafeterias. The news was first reported by the independent news outlet T24. Neither Kurtulmus nor his office, which also issued a statement confirming the boycott, provided an explanation of how these brands were supporting Israel's actions in Gaza.

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