Fighting the evil clown: Israelis protest against McDonald's

Israel prepared Friday to mark the international anti-McDonald's day, with groups of local animal rights activists, vegans and anti-capitalist demonstrators preparing to protest outside branches of the famous fast food chain in the cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv. Israelis have wholeheartedly embraced the American burger giant since McDonald's first started flipping burgers in Israel in 1993. Today the restaurant chain operates 57 kosher restaurants in Israel, as well as cheeseburger-serving non-kosher franchises. Fully aware of this trend, and eager to avoid the fate of other American companies like Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, which both failed in Israel, Israeli McDonald's restaurants serve grilled patties which Israelis prefer to the fried version and also offer a staple Israeli dish– freshly chopped green salad. Needless to say, not all Israelis are lining up to purchase the latest McMeal: the Vegan North group will set up an information point outside the McDonald's restaurant in Haifa's Hadar neighborhood on Friday to speak out in the name of all the animals they claim McDonald's is abusing and slaughtering to produce burgers and milkshakes. “Not only do they hurt animals,” the group stated on their social media page, “they also destroy the environment.” They go on to list how exactly this is done, explaining that livestock, water and earth are “wasted” and rain forests cut down to help produce the burger giant's meals. In addition, the group claims, the toys the company includes in its meals for children are produced in sweatshops in southern China. “It's nearly impossible for parents… to compete with a cooperation that spends 2 billion USD a year for advertisement.” Referring to the latest wave of clown incidents in Israel, the Vegan North published the event's flyer with the headline: 'Fighting the evilest clown of them all,'' referencing the brand's red-and-white faced mascot, Ronald McDonald. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE HE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii- mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi- mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi- mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

Fighting the evil clown: Israelis protest against McDonald's

As part of the global anti-McDonald's day Israelis will protest in Haifa and Tel Aviv against the global fast-food giant.

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Fighting the evil clown: Israelis protest against McDonald's

As part of the global anti-McDonald's day Israelis will protest in Haifa and Tel Aviv against the global fast-food giant.

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