Food Co-Op to Vote on Controversial Israeli Product Ban
After heated debates, the organization will discuss whether or not to even vote on the idea of banning Israeli-made products.
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Next month, the Park Slope Food Co-op will vote on whether to hold a referendum on a boycott of products made in Isreal – the organization's most divisive issue yet, says the Wall Street Journal.
The boycott idea was started by co-op member Hima B, an artist and filmmaker who believes that economic pressure against Israel will end "an apartheid system against Palestinians," says the article.
Other co-op members, who have named themselves "More Hummus Please," say that the boycott is nothing more than thinly veiled anti-Semitism, according to the article.
The Journal says that the two groups will face off at a March 27 meeting in the auditorium of Brooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene, and there will discuss whether the co-op will even vote on the issue of boycotting Israeli products at all.
Read the full story at the Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/xDtT5e
Last April, the co-op voted on creating an animal welfare committee, after members were concerned about the care standards at the farms where the co-op receives their meat and dairy.
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- Wall Street Journal Read more: Food Co-op Readies for Boycott Vote
Patti
12:56 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
You want to start with Israel ok - what other countries should the Co op boycott?
rick sanchez
1:44 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
the ones that support apartheid.
Gary
10:19 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Calling the situation in Israel apartheid is a vast oversimplification. Israel has a large Arab minority that are full citizens with equal rights-though there is undoubtedly prejudice and discrimination. Those living in occupied territories that were formerly controlled by Egypt and Jordan and are not really parts of Israel cannot really be treated equally. And as others have noted, Palestinian's in the occupied territories often have more rights than citizens of neighboring countries.
While Israel can and should undoubtedly do more to come to terms with Palestinians, it seems unfair to single out Israel and ignore the responsibilities of Palestinians and Arab countries in creating the current situation (rejecting the existence of Israel and a UN partition and repeated attacking Israel militarily, while failing to deal with refugees) and failing to move toward a viable solution.
Margo Margo
1:44 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
It is the extremists that choose the set up in Israel. You did not mention if you will
put pressure on Syria or Iranian oil or the Taliban in Afghanistan.......I'm afraid I
see the co-ops bias against Jews in general...nothing new....choose your enemys
wisely, you may be next. BTW, I strongly do not agree with Israel's treatment of
the Paestinians, I just wonder why you just chose one group over another. HOw about Made in China...haven't they been poisoning our pet food and lying about
organic products and including lead in our lipstick, etc. Sorry, do this and I'll shop elswhere.
FortGreener
11:47 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Boycott Syria, Iran, BAhrIn, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia and China that have much worse civil rights abuses and curtailment of freedom. Than having achieved some level of moral consistency I'll support a boycott of Israel on humanitarian grounds.
Robert
9:00 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
To all the members of the coop who do not agree with this.. Please publish the names and addresses of the boycotter's, there are many legal, non-violent ways to show them what it is like to be selected for punishment. This is not about apartheid, it is antisemitism and it need to be exposed for what it is.. Even if they lose the battle we want to know who the terrorist supporters are among us (yes, if you support the Palestinians movement then you are endorsing terrorism... there are no two ways about it. The Arabs in Israel who did not declare war on Israel live peacefully within their borders with full rights. It is only the self identified Palestinians that took up terrorism and have avoided peace for over 50 years.))
rick sanchez
10:23 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
why not show your email and address first, tough guy?
Patti
9:37 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
How about the Coop be "Made in America" only.
Michelle
10:28 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
This is so unnecessary and extreme. There should not be boycotts on Israeli products. period.
Lara
10:49 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
There are more effective ways to bring awareness to this issue without boycotting our food, even if it is from Israel. An appropriate boycott of Israel's food would be because of GMO's and the like. But for political issues, it's not appropriate. Besides, it creates a bigger divide and becomes 'anti-semetic'.
Surely we could be more creative than this.
Dave
11:56 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
I will never shop at the coop again. I did not realize they were such bigots. It is VERY clear when they boycott Israel in general, and also only Israel and not other nations, like China, as someone above pointed out. I didn't realize we had such hatred in Park Slope.
Jerry
1:47 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Many of the farms and factories that grow and process food in Israel are staffed by Palestinians. A boycott could have the unintended consequence of hurting the very people it intends to protect.
I wonder where the cash registers, electronics, and other equipment in the Co-Op is made. Where do some products, even locally sourced ones, get their packaging? China?
This is a slippery slope. Without a full investigation into the source countries of EVERY product and item on sale and in use at the Co-Op, this is straight up anti-Israel prejudice.
Frank Gallo
12:28 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
We should change the argument to ban all fascist food. Including Tropicana (Pepsi Co), Pure Water Filters (Procter & Gamble) and Pepperidge Farm (Campbell Soup Company). I suppose all the left and right extremists will continue their brand of divisive politics. Way to take the high road. By the way, what military industrial nation armed Israel? I wonder.....