In Argentina, mass protests have begun with the intention of demonstrating their dislike towards Israel and the actions they have taken in Palestine. A female protester was seen wearing a sign that said, “Out Mekorot”, an Israeli water company that functions in Argentina and many other parts of the world. Their actions in Palestine, which include cutting off and reducing water supplies and, before the Hamas attack, charging Palestinian authorities higher costs to send water in Palestine, an already undersupplied location. Today, they leave Palestinians to drink unsafe water and live in unhealthy conditions, a particularly tragic thing for hospitals. More countries are starting to break relations with Melokon due to their ties with Israel, which, in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t affect Melokon business because it has grounds in many other parts of the world like Morocco and Mexico.
While the protestors efforts to stop Melokon from working in Argentina are admirable, it’s likely completely futile. A multinational corporation with strings in nearly all major countries is likely not going to be affected by a pullout in Argentina nor would hurt them as much as it would hurt Argentina. With many water lines being run under the direction of Melokon, actually causing their removal would be detrimental to Argentina families under their water system. There would be mass water shortages that would further upset the Argentinian people in far different ways. This article is important because it demonstrates the reach that Israel has in different parts of the world and how people are reacting to the realization of how far that reach spreads. After the Hamas attack, the world is more knowledgeable of foreign presence in their countries, and I believe it’s important to know this kind of thing about your country to become more aware of politics and world events. I find it to be only a matter of time before people start to realize the reach of other countries and how it’s affecting their country, whether it be for better or worse.
In class, we’ve spoken about how countries aren’t friends, but solely have interests in one another. Countries will turn on one another; it’s no longer in somebody’s best interest to align themselves with them. While Argentina has not taken a national stance against Israel in the war, if the people were to rise up against Israeli presence in Argentina, perhaps it might be time to cut ties and stop supporting Israel if the Argentinians no longer see it as a mutually beneficial relationship. Furthermore, it might stray from the idea of having relationships with other countries because of a trade relationship, but start going towards the idea that they do not ideologically align no longer.