World Perspective : Israel : West Bank Dispute Gives Burger King a Case of Heartburn

The small group of Israelis picketing outside the downtown Burger King the other day believe the corporate bosses of the fast-food chain made a whopper of a mistake.

“It just tastes anti-Semitic!” the protesters chanted, waving their placards in the sunshine on a busy pedestrian mall.

Burger King has found itself plopped into the middle of a Middle Eastern political drama, the ingredients of which line up like this:

In May, an Israeli company that holds the local franchise opened its 47th branch in Maale Adumim, a huge, sprawling Jewish settlement in the disputed West Bank just northeast of Jerusalem.

When Arab American and Muslim groups got wind of this, they were furious and swiftly threatened a worldwide boycott of Burger King. Arabs are especially sensitive to attempts by Israeli settlers to legitimize their occupation of West Bank land, which is claimed by the Palestinians. Palestinians regard settlements like Maale Adumim illegal.

Alarmed, Burger King’s Miami-based headquarters ordered the Maale Adumim restaurant closed, with officials saying they had been misled about the location of the property.

Jewish organizations then took their turn to be outraged, accusing the corporate giant of caving in to Arab threats. They threatened their own boycott and launched a campaign of demonstrations outside other Burger King outlets.

The Anti-Defamation League, for example, branded Burger King an “accomplice” to efforts to resurrect the use of boycotts against companies that want to do business in Israel.

Meanwhile, the Israeli franchisee refused to obey Burger King’s orders to stop operating the Maale Adumim outlet. The restaurant continues to dish out its high-fat fare, under the familiar orange-and-white sign.

“If we let the Arabs win, it won’t end with Burger King,” warned Maale Adumim Mayor Benny Kashriel, a Jewish settler leader. “We must prevent the provocations from growing. . . . They are Burger King, and they are very strong, and I expect them to behave like a king and not like a chicken.”

Kashriel had just lunched on a burger and fries at the Burger King in Maale Adumim, a settlement of 26,000 people that Israeli governments have allowed to expand to the point where it may eventually abut Jerusalem.

The Burger Kings in Israel are operated by Rikamor Ltd., whose president is Meshulam Riklis, a Southern California tycoon who was once famous for being married to entertainer Pia Zadora and owning Pickfair, the former home of silent-screen legends Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.

Riklis apparently wants to keep silent about the Israeli Burger King mess. A woman who answered the telephone at his Beverly Hills office said “no comment” even before the question was asked.

Rikamor’s local representative, Rani Rahav, said Riklis believes it is within his legal rights to keep the restaurant open, logo and all.

A Burger King spokesman in Miami said the local franchisee was well aware that Burger King did not want to operate in occupied territory. “They kept assuring us [that Maale Adumim] was in Israel,” said Rob Doughty, vice president for public relations. He added that Burger King’s decision to pull out came not in response to the Arab boycott but to the franchisee’s deception.

Burger King may have to go to court to fight Riklis. The company is exploring its options, Doughty said.

There is precedent. Earlier this decade, the Holiday Inn corporation filed suit to prevent a hotel in war-besieged Sarajevo from using the Holiday Inn name and logos. That hotel in the Bosnian capital was repeatedly shelled, scarred and burned, and became a much-photographed symbol of the war. The corporation never succeeded in removing its sign from the building.