A television news anchor in Turkey was fired after she appeared on camera with a cup of coffee from the alleged pro-Israel Starbucks.
Meltem Gunay, a 45-year-old newscaster, and the director of the program were fired from their positions with TGRT Haber over an alleged violation of the company’s “principles,” the Istanbul-based news company wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“In accordance with the principles of our institution, it is strictly forbidden for the announcer to present on TGRT News TV in a way that will covertly advertise any company,” the company wrote. “The news anchor and director who acted contrary to this principle were terminated for just cause.”
The media company added that its “institution has an understanding that knows the sensitivities of the Turkish people regarding Gaza and defends them to the end.”
“It is absolutely impossible to approve any action or publication contrary to this. We do not approve of this action of the presenter and director, whose employment contracts were terminated, and we strongly condemn it,” the company wrote.
In the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which left more than 1,400 people dead and more than 200 people taken as hostages, Israel declared war on the terrorist group.
Since then, people in Turkey have waged a boycott on Starbucks in what is viewed as its support for Israel.
Tesneem, a Palestinian-Canadian, explained to NBC News that boycotts around Starbucks began after the company sued the Starbucks Workers United (SWU), a union consisting of more than 360 stores and more than 9,000 employees made a post on social media saying, “Solidarity with Palestine.”
In a recent letter, Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan claimed the people protesting the coffee company had been “influenced by misrepresentation on social media” of the coffee chain’s stance on the Israel and Hamas war.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been vocal in his criticism of the Israeli government in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel. In early November, Erdogan issued a statement recalling the Turkish ambassador to Israel.
Erdogan described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “no longer someone” they could speak to, adding that they had “written him off.”