[news] McDonald's in Israel Confirms 'no-Arabic'

[ron]

McDonald's Confirms 'no-Arabic' policy at its restaurants in Israel
Ali Abunimah & Nigel Parry, The Electronic Intifada, 5 March 2004


McDonald's Corporation today confirmed that it has a policy banning its
employees from speaking Arabic in its restaurants in Israel, despite the
fact that Palestinian citizens of Israel form 20% of its workforce, and
Arabic is one of the two official languages of Israel. The Corporation
denied, however, that Abeer Zinaty, a former "Excellent Worker 2003 --
McDonald's Israel," was fired because she spoke Arabic on the job.

EI co-founder Ali Abunimah received a statement from Julie Pottebaum, a
spokesperson for Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald's corporation, after EI
contacted the company about the allegations contained in an article in
Al-Ahram Weekly.

EI also issued an action alert to its readers, prompting calls and emails
from all over the world, urging McDonald's to investigate allegations that
it had a no-Arabic policy, and that at least one employee had been fired 
for
violating it. EI received copies of emails sent to McDonald's from 
concerned
readers in the US, the Czech Republic, and Jordan among other countries.

The McDonald's statement said that it was "absolutely not true" that Abeer
Zinaty had been fired because she spoke Arabic on the job, and asserted
that,
"her employment was terminated by her supervisor, a Palestinian Arab who
also speaks Arab, for performance-related reasons."

At present EI cannot evaluate McDonald's claim specifically regarding the
case of Abeer Zinaty, but is making efforts to obtain further information.

At the same time we are outraged that McDonald's has confirmed that it has
banned the use of Arabic by employees at its 80 restaurants in Israel. The
McDonald's statement said:
"As the largest quick-service restaurant employer in Israel, [McDonald's
Israel is] proud that about 20% of its employees are Israeli Arabs and
another 20% are Russian immigrants, which reflects the general 
population of
Israel. Israeli Arabs and Russian immigrants are also represented in the
many levels of management. While Hebrew, the common language between all
employees, is required to be spoken when on duty in order to best conduct
business and best serve our customers, no one has ever been let go for
speaking their own language."

EI can see no justification for banning Palestinian citizens of Israel from
using Arabic, their native language, a native language of the country and
one of only two official languages of Israel. This policy directly
contradicts McDonald's stated principles encouraging and celebrating
diversity, fairness and respect for all its employees. It not only
discriminates against Arabic-speaking employees, but also Arabic-speaking
customers.

It is unimaginable that in its American restaurants, McDonald's would
prohibit the use of Spanish, the most-commonly spoken language in the 
United
States after English. In a context where Palestinian citizens of Israel 
face
documented, systematic discrimination in employment, education and public
services, McDonald's ought to be setting an example of equal treatment for
all. Instead, it has, like so many other companies working in Israel,
apparently chosen to make its Arab employees and patrons second class
citizens.

In light of McDonald's admission of its no-Arabic policy, we urge our
readers who are concerned about this issue to continue to contact 
McDonald's
Corporation:

The Solution


Contact McDonald's Corporation in the United States to:
Express your views about their stated policy of requiring all employees in
McDonald's Israel restaurants to speak Hebrew, and prohibiting its Arab
employees from speaking their own language with each other or with
customers, even though Arabic is native to the country, and one of the two
official languages of Israel;


Demand that McDonald's Corporation immediately require McDonald's Israel to
rescind its no-Arabic policy and respect the rights and dignity of its Arab
employees and customers;

You may contact McDonald's by the following means:

Mail:
Mr. Jim Cantalupo
Chief Executive Officer
McDonald's Corporation
McDonald's Plaza
Oak Brook, IL 60523

Telephone:
1-800-244-6227

E-mail:
Via McDonald's contact page


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