This is an interesting piece of graffiti. It was near the Starbucks in the Fourth Circle that I mentioned earlier, and reads "Starbucks... Death is near," with a Star of David. Many Arabs believe that Starbucks sends money to Israel. I remember the protests outside the Israeli embassy in London when Israel invaded Gaza. There was a mini-riot and the protesters smashed the windows of a Starbucks on Kensington High Street. I googled it just now, and I can't really tell how much is rumour and how much is true. A few years ago, somebody wrote a parody of a letter from the Starbucks CEO thanking customers for supporting Israel with every drink they buy. It seems that although Starbucks doesn't financially support the Israeli state, the CEO is a self-proclaimed 'Active Zionist' and has been recognized by the Israeli state as a contributor to US-Israeli relations, whatever that means. Many Palestinian advocacy groups encourage boycotting Starbucks. Funnily enough, Starbucks has actually failed to conquer Israel - they closed their six cafes there in 2003 after making massive losses. However, the chain is popular among young, hip, wealthy Arabs. Food for thought. If you're interested in reading more, here are some links:
From a boycott Israel website, detailing Starbucks' support for Israel
http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-starbucks.html
From the Starbucks PR department, denying Starbucks' support for Israel
http://news.starbucks.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=200
A reproduction of the original hoax letter from the Starbucks CEO
http://www.snopes.com/politics/israel/schultz.asp
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