[2] Plans were for September 1, 2001 to have the first location open in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square.

Many rumors began circulating on the internet that they were closing as part of an Arab boycott of American businesses in Israel.

[12] Bill O’Shea, Starbucks VP of Business Development in Europe, Middle East and Africa, released a letter stating that Starbucks chose to close their Israel locations due to business reasons, not political.

[13][14] In September 2005 Starbucks hired MAN Properties Real Estate Consultants to explore options to return to Israel.

Starbucks was looking for a managing partner to team up with in Israel for the renewed deployment strategy.