page_title: Burger King franchises
section_title: Israel & Palestinian Territories
hierarchical_section_title: Burger King franchises / Relations / International relations / Israel & Palestinian Territories
caption_attribution_description: English: Ma'ale Adumim, Har HaBayit street adorned with flags for 58th Independence Day - view from Jericho Road Photo: Soman Location: Ma'ale Adumim
context_page_description: The majority of the locations of international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King are privately owned franchises. While the majority of franchisees are smaller operations, several have grown into major corporations in their own right. At the end of the company's fiscal year in 2015, Burger King reported it had more than 15,000 outlets in 84 countries; of these, approximately 50% are in the United States and 99.9% are privately owned and operated. The company locations employ more than 37,000 people who serve approximately 11.4 million customers daily.
  Since its predecessor's inception in 1953, Burger King has used several variations of franchising to expand its operations. In the United States, the company originally relied on a regional franchise model with owners having exclusive expansion rights in a defined geographic territory. This model proved to be problematic as it led to issues of food quality, procedures and image management. A 1970s attempt by one of its largest franchises to take over the chain led to a restructuring of its franchising system, tossing the old method in favor of a restricted, per store licensing model.
context_section_description: In the summer of 1999, a geopolitical dispute with the global Islamic community and Jewish groups in the United States and Israel arose over an Israeli franchisee opening stores in the territories. When Burger King franchisee in Israel, Rikamor, Ltd., opened a store in the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim in August of that year, Islamic groups, including the Arab League and American Muslims for Jerusalem, argued that international Burger King parent Burger King Corporation's licensing of the store helped legitimize the settlement. Beyond the called-for Islamic boycott of the company, the Arab League also threatened the revocation of the business licenses of Burger King's primary Middle Eastern franchise in the 22 countries that are part of the League's membership.
  Burger King Corporation quickly pulled the franchise license for that location and had the store shuttered explaining that Rikamor, Ltd. had violated its contract by opening the location in the West Bank. Several American-based Jewish groups issued statements that denounced the decision as acceding to threats of boycotts by Islamic groups. Burger King Corporation issued a statement that it "made this decision purely on a commercial basis and in the best interests of thousands of people who depend on the Burger King reputation for their livelihood".
  Eventually, the regional master franchise for Israel, Orgad Holdings, decided to close its operations in that country and merge all operations with its own local chain, Burgeranch. It was claimed by Ograd owners Eli and Yuval Orgad that Israelis preferred the taste of the local brand over the American chain. One blogger, a former manager of a Burger King in the United States, claimed that both chains were basically the same in product and preparations, it was Burger King's failure to fully adapt to the local market tastes that doomed them in that country. By September 6, 2010 all 55 locations in the country were closed down and converted to Burgeranches.
caption: A view of the Ma'aleh Adumim settlement
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