(UnitedVoice.com) – Activists across the world began protesting when Israel began bombing the Gaza Strip. They also started boycotting companies that supported the Jewish state. Starbucks is one of those companies, and a news anchor was recently fired because she displayed one of their cups.
On December 24, Turkish television station TGRT’s officials announced it had fired anchor Meltem Günay and a news director. According to the statement on X, formerly Twitter, the terminations stemmed from an incident earlier that day where Günay presented the news with a Starbucks cup next to her on the desk. The officials said they fired the anchor and director “for just cause” because they were forbidden from “covertly adverts[ing] any company.”
The statement went on to say that the network understands “the sensitivities of the Turkish people regarding Gaza,” and they will defend and continue to stand by them to the end.
KAMUOYUNA DUYURU
TGRT Haber TV’nin 24.12.2023 tarihli haber yayınında spikerlik yapan Meltem Günay‘ın önünde Starbucks’a ait bir fincan ile haber sunduğu görülmüştür.
Kurumumuzun ilkeleri gereği spikerin TGRT Haber TV’de herhangi bir firmanın örtülü reklamını yapacak şekilde…
— TGRT HABER (@tgrthabertv) December 24, 2023
Starbucks doesn’t operate in Israel like some of the other big corporations. It also hasn’t donated any money to the country or its causes. However, it sued Starbucks Workers United for using the company’s logo when the union issued a statement of support for the Palestinian people and not condemning the terrorist attack on Israel that left about 1,200 people dead and started a war. The lawsuit led to a boycott of the company by pro-Palestinian activists.
Türkiye, like the other Muslim-majority nations in the Middle East, supports Palestine in the conflict with Israel. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, saying he’s treating the people in Gaza the same way the Jews were treated during World War II. Netanyahu responded to the Turkish president, accusing him of committing genocide against the Kurds and imprisoning journalists.
As for Günay and the news director, they have not publicly commented on their firings.
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