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Coca-Cola’s appeal to Palestinians fizzles as the Mideast war boosts demand for a local look-alike
Associated Press ^ | 2:48 AM EST, February 25, 2025 | Isabel Debre

Posted on 02/25/2025 1:14:34 PM PST by Olog-hai

Order a Coke to wash down some hummus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank these days and chances are the waiter will shake his head disapprovingly — or worse, mutter “shame, shame” in Arabic — before suggesting the popular local alternative: a can of Chat Cola.

Chat Cola — its red tin and sweeping white script bearing remarkable resemblance to the iconic American soft drink’s logo — has seen its products explode in popularity across the occupied West Bank in the past year as Palestinian consumers, angry at America’s steadfast support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza, protest with their pocketbooks.

“No one wants to be caught drinking Coke,” said Mad Asaad, 21, a worker at the bakery-cafe chain Croissant House in the West Bank city of Ramallah, which stopped selling Coke after the war erupted. “Everyone drinks Chat now. It’s sending a message.”

Since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack triggered Israel’s devastating military campaign in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian-led boycott movement against companies perceived as supportive of Israel gained momentum across the Middle East, where the usual American corporate targets like McDonald’s, KFC and Starbucks saw sales slide last year.

Here in the West Bank, the boycott has shuttered two KFC branches in Ramallah. But the most noticeable expression of consumer outrage has been the sudden ubiquity of Chat Cola as shopkeepers relegate Coke cans to the bottom shelf — or pull them altogether. …

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: Heated Discussion
KEYWORDS: associatedpress; chatcola; cocacola; isabeldebre; israel; palestinians; rop; thereisnowestbank

1 posted on 02/25/2025 1:14:34 PM PST by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai

Maybe New Coke will take off there.


2 posted on 02/25/2025 1:15:49 PM PST by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: Olog-hai

Hey Muzzies, want some MOAB cola? We’ll airdrop a load.


3 posted on 02/25/2025 1:19:17 PM PST by twister881
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To: Olog-hai

4 posted on 02/25/2025 1:23:43 PM PST by BlueLancer (Orchides Forum Trahite - Cordes Et Mentes Veniant)
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To: Olog-hai

Fake Coke

Fake Palestinians


5 posted on 02/25/2025 1:24:57 PM PST by Vendome (I've Gotta Be Me https://youtu.be/wH-pk2vZG2M)
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To: Olog-hai

chat cola— tastes like goat azz.


6 posted on 02/25/2025 1:33:22 PM PST by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world or something )
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To: Olog-hai

Growing up, I always knew that Coke was in Israel, and Pepsi (pronounced Pipsi) dominated the Arab states. I had assumed that it remained that way.


7 posted on 02/25/2025 1:37:09 PM PST by Dr. Sivana ("Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." (John 2:5))
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To: Olog-hai

I recently had a Palestinian cola. I don’t remember the name, but it wasn’t that one. It reminded me of RC.


8 posted on 02/25/2025 1:42:59 PM PST by Southside_Chicago_Republican (God save the United States!)
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To: Southside_Chicago_Republican

Send me a case. I think RC is the best cola, but haven’t had it in 29 years. Diet Pepsi for me


9 posted on 02/25/2025 2:34:49 PM PST by j.havenfarm (24 years on Free Republic, 12/10/24! More than 10,500 replies and still not shutting up!)
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To: Olog-hai

It’s awful. Really awful.

If you tour the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta at the end they take you into a room that looks like an old fashioned diner with soda jerks.

They have fountain machines lined up with Coke they sell around the world you can taste.

Most country formulas are disgusting. Very rich or flavored with stuff like liquorice.


10 posted on 02/25/2025 2:40:45 PM PST by Fledermaus (I'm getting tired of the contrarians on FR.)
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To: Olog-hai
What's the problem?



11 posted on 02/25/2025 2:53:23 PM PST by plain talk
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To: Olog-hai

So the “Open air prison” of Gaza has its own canning lines, KFCs, bakeries, restaurants, beach resorts,etc... If I was more suspicious I would think the press and Hamas whores were lying to us.


12 posted on 02/25/2025 3:09:29 PM PST by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
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To: Olog-hai

Everyone drinks Chat now. It’s sending a message.”

Yeah. How effing stupid you are


13 posted on 02/25/2025 3:40:07 PM PST by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
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To: Olog-hai

Coke refusing to get rid of DEI. How’s that working out for you?


14 posted on 02/25/2025 3:50:16 PM PST by Midwesterner53
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