DEARBORN — Across the city of Dearborn, the Starbucks coffee store chain has been the subject of multiple discussions regarding its involvement and support of Israel.

Recently boycotts, protests, and even acts of vandalism have broken out in the Arab world as well as in London, England against the company.

The actions are based mainly around accusations against Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz and his support of Israel.

While he doesn’t recommend going as far as committing acts of vandalism, Palestine Michigan Office Director Hassan Newash described the Dearborn boycott of Starbucks restaurants as “long overdue” by the Arab American community and other citizens in light of the recent attacks in the Gaza Strip.

“Although the evidence of a Zionist-Starbucks link has been deliberately camouflaged in recent years by Starbucks’ management, the chairman’s (Schultz) avid support of Israel necessitates the boycott today.”

Schultz’s 1998 acceptance of the “Israeli 50th Anniversary Tribute Award” by the Jewish organization Aish Ha-Torah is regarded by Newash as evidence of his support of Zionism.

According to a June 14, 2002 article by Robert Fisk entitled “Starbucks the Target of Arab Boycott for its Growing Links to Israel” on the Web site of the British newspaper The Independent, the organization was strongly critical of Yasser Arafat and insisted that the occupied Palestinian territories should be described only as “disputed.” Also according to the article, Schultz gave a speech to Jewish Americans in Seattle in 2002 “at the height of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s reoccupation of West Bank towns.” Schultz condemned Palestinian “inaction” and said that “the Palestinians aren’t doing their job – they’re not stopping terrorism.”

Another article titled “Aish Ha-Torah’s New ‘Obsession'” by Sarah Posner in The Jewish Week written on October 29, 2008 said that at least six of the corporation’s top officials were tied to the “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West” DVD which was mass-distributed to newspapers across America and criticized by civil rights groups as being hateful towards Muslims.

A statement released by the Starbucks corporate office called the boycotts “disheartening” and “based on blatant untruths.” The statement also said that Starbucks remains a “non-political organization” and that allegations that the company provides financial support to the Israeli government and/or army are unequivocably false.

The company currently has more than 230 stores in nine Middle Eastern countries.

Managers at Starbucks locations in both east and west Dearborn said they weren’t allowed to comment on whether or not they had seen a drop in their customer bases over the past few weeks.