Russell Brand’s Call For Boycott Of Businesses That Support Israel Draws Ire


Earlier this week, comedian and commentator Russel Brand spoke out against the involvement of businesses in the Gaza conflict. Singling out Barclays, a British bank, for a several minute tirade, he explained that the surest way (in his opinion) to end the conflict peacefully is to stop making it profitable for the companies who, he says, fund it.

Partnering with Avaaz.org, Brand supports their message:

Our governments have failed — while they have talked peace and passed UN resolutions, they and our companies have continued to aid, trade and invest in the violence. The only way to stop this hellish cycle of Israel confiscating Palestinian lands, daily collective punishment of innocent Palestinian families, Hamas firing rockets, and Israel bombing Gaza is to make the economic cost of this conflict too high to bear.

If there are two things Russell Brand is good at, it’s making people laugh, and making people angry. His mockery of big banking business, which veers off into jokes about pressuring senior citizens into online banking, might be an effective form of the former — if the entire tirade wasn’t so successful at the latter.

According to the Times of Israel, Brand’s petition focuses on companies that enable Israel to maintain Operation Protective Edge along the Gaza Strip. Brand terms businesses with Israeli investments as “mak[ing] the drones that bomb Gaza.”

It’s little wonder that supporters of Israel have fired back, calling for a boycott of Russell Brand. Says one commenter:

We need every Hollywood Jew to destroy this putz…let him work exclusively in all the Muslim countries.

The petition doesn’t just target the bank chain, though. It’s addressed to “the CEOs of ABP, HP, Veolia, Barclays, Caterpillar, and G4S” and calls on those companies to stop doing business that supports what the petition calls “illegal Israeli settlements.”

In the past few days the response has been overwhelming, with social media users calling Brand an addict, an idiot, and more:

Brand is far from the first celebrity to take a licking for speaking out against Israel: Selena Gomez, Rihanna, and others have taken flak for an apparent support of Hamas. (Both Rihanna and Gomez later clarified, withdrew, or explained.)

While a few supporters agree that pulling big business money out of the entire conflict would bring it to a more peaceful and quicker end, the majority are saying that if Russell Brand is calling for a boycott of Israel, they are calling for a boycott of Russell Brand.

Photo: Facebook

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