As Israel’s relentless military campaign on Palestine’s Gaza continues after a month, with at least10,500 Palestinians killed, a boycott movement in solidarity with the people of Gaza has gained pace in Türkiye.
Individuals, companies and organisations from the public and private domains have actively been turning to alternatives to Israeli goods while refusing to engage with brands that support Israel and its war against besieged Gaza.
"Following the massacres committed by Israel against the Palestinians in Gaza, it became a matter of conscience to cut off the sources of finance for the country," an Istanbul-based illustrator Feride Karatas, who has joined the boycott against Israel, told TRT World.
"I have two children of my own; I cannot watch the children in Palestine who are suffering, scared, trembling, crying helplessly, alone. ... That is why I and my friends around me are trying to do whatever we can in good conscience," she said.
Leaving no stone unturned, millions of Turkish people have also begun boycotting card payment systems - namely Visa and Mastercard - to cut down the commissions the companies receive from card transactions. In turn, people around Türkiye have shown an increased interest in the Turkish-developed alternative TROY, which stands for "Türkiye's Payment Method”. Karatas is one of those people.
Once she found out about TROY, she made the switch without hesitating and encouraged her social circle to do the same. "Of course, boycotting individual products is important. But the main financial source of this country is the Mastercard and Visa card that we have had to use almost every day," she explained.
Emphasising that a commission goes to companies that support Israel from each product purchased with Mastercard and Visa card, even if citizens continue to boycott by only purchasing domestic products, Karatas added: "The biggest boycott is to cut this source of finance."
Over 10,500 Palestinians killed
For the past week, TROY has been the focal point of a social media movement. On Tuesday, the brand announced that the number of its cards had hit 19 million, with a significant spike in purchase volume in the past month.
Ummehan Peker, a psychological counsellor, was among those who found out about TROY through the social media movement.
She told TRT World that she switched to the Turkish system primarily to boycott Israel, and because she wanted to support the local brand.
"It was an easy decision. The oppression against Palestine has been troubling me for a long time... Given today's situation, seeing that Mastercard and Visa support Israel so much was enough reason, and the fact that TROY is a local brand reinforced my choice," she said.
Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, and its unwillingness to respond to calls for peace and ceasefire, have triggered a major wave of boycotts in Türkiye.
From universities to municipalities, public and private organisations have stopped the sale of products from brands that support Israel, and consequently the country’s atrocities in Gaza.
The Corum province’s municipality, for one, moved to transfer the credit and debit cards of its staff of over 2,000 people from Visa and Mastercard to TROY.
The mayor, Halil İbrahim Aşgın, stressed that the 1.5 percent commission from every transaction through Visa and Mastercard was finding its way to Israel and those who endorse the occupation of Palestinian territories.
The renowned Turkish Airlines has joined the boycott by removing Israeli products from their domestic terminal locations.
Türkiye's parliament also announced on Tuesday that they will no longer use products of companies that support Israel's aggression.
Since October 7, Israel has killed more than 10,500 Palestinians in a relentless bombardment of Gaza — home to 2.3 million. About 40 percent of those killed are children, according to officials.
