DIGIVESTASI - An app has gone viral calling for a boycott of Israeli products, the app is called "No Thanks." Depending on the purpose, the app is useful in identifying products that support Israel or are affiliated with the country.

The operation of the app is quite simple. Users can scan a product's barcode or enter its name and within seconds they will be informed of the manufacturer's level of support for Israel.

The app was launched on November 13 and has been downloaded more than 100,000 times to date. Because of its popularity, the "No Thanks" app has become the talk of the town in Indonesia.

The person behind the "NoThanks" app

 According to the app's own description, "NoThanks" was developed by Ahmed Bashbash, who currently lives in Hungary. Later, according to DW, Ahmed Bashbash claimed to be a Palestinian from Gaza.

Bashbash said he lost his brother and two sisters when the fighting between Hamas and Israel intensified.

Two siblings died from not receiving standard medical care in 2020. "I am doing this on behalf of my brothers who lost their lives because of this brutal profession and my goal is to try to "prevent what happened to me from happening to them . . other Palestinians," Bashbash told DW via email.

With this ambition, Ahmed Bashbash then compiled a list of companies suspected of supporting Israel with the help of the websites "Boycotsionism" and "Ulasplace".

The Boycotzionism website broadcasts the slogan "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," which is sometimes interpreted as anti-Semitic. Some people see this phrase as a slogan that denies Israel's right to exist.
 

According to the site's operators, the list of brands to be boycotted includes world-renowned companies such as Adidas, McDonald's, Chanel, Netflix and Apple, and represents all industries, from food to products, cosmetics to streaming service providers.

Some companies are on the list because they jointly launched a campaign after October 7 condemning the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

Other companies invested, for example, in Israeli startups or funded the "theft of Palestinian territory," according to the site. According to recent reports, Google has removed the "No Thanks" app from the Play Store