Israel boycotts Turkish coffee over political spat
[Al Arabiya Latest] A large Israeli cafe chain has decided to stop selling Turkish coffee and plans are afoot to boycott Turkish resorts in the wake of increased tensions between the two nations, officials said Sunday.
"We have decided for the time being to stop selling 'Istanbul coffee' -- our Turkish coffee blend, and we shall keep doing it until matters improve," Michael Steg, director of marketing for the Ilan coffee shop chain, told the Ynet news website.
"We believe anyone can be active in his own way and this is our small and symbolic way of doing that," he said.
Meanwhile, Yossi Levy, a senior official with Israel's national carrier ElAl, told Army Radio his employee association and those of several other major Israeli businesses plan to stop subsidizing vacations for their workers to Turkey during the Passover holiday next April, the next major holiday season in the Jewish state during which up to 80,000 Israelis are expected to visit Turkish resorts.
The boycott moves come as a response to a Turkish state television series that began airing last week that depicts Israeli soldiers deliberately killing Palestinian children, the latest incident to sour relations between Israel and Ankara.
Posted by: Fred 2009-10-19 |