Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, led by Duvi Honig, has announced that it ended its boycott of Starbucks

The Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, led by Duvi Honig, has announced that it ended its boycott of the coffee giant, after Starbucks filed a lawsuit against an anti-Israel employee union.

Amazingly, Mr. Honig had a strong impact on the Starbucks corporation, so much so, that founder Howard Schultz personally called him and asked him to rescind a scathing op-ed which was published on VINnews. 

After the 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, former CEO of Starbucks, reached out to Duvi to discuss his ongoing support for Israel and his strong condemnation of the 300 union stores and its 3000 employees who support Hamas.

Duvi, 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 Chamber’s 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 Howard 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.

Additionally, The Chamber requested from Howard 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. (See below).

During the heartfelt conversation, Howard 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.”

Howard and the corporate leaders of Starbucks immediately agreed to pursue this course of action having Starbucks file the lawsuit immediately next morning which it shared with the Chamber.

Mr. Honig and the Chamber released a statement, reading in part:

“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…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 removes its Boycott on and applauds Starbucks and its leadership for owning up to taking immediate action saying NEVER AGAIN!”