Storied New York food co-op votes to boycott Israeli products after contentious campaign

Members of the Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn voted to boycott roughly a dozen products from Israel and Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine. The vote occurred during a three-hour virtual meeting attended by about 7,000 of the co-op’s 17,000 members, with 67% voting in favor. The boycott targets some brands of tahini, peppers, persimmons, and other products. The decision follows months of campaigning and contentious debate tied to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Supporters argued the boycott aligns with the co-op’s history of socially conscious shopping and referenced prior boycotts of apartheid South Africa, Chile under Augusto Pinochet, and companies over labor or environmental practices. Opponents described the boycott as a proxy war.

"Members of a storied food co-operative in Brooklyn have voted to boycott about a dozen products from Israel and Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine capping years of contentious debate over a conflict half a world away that has threatened to rip apart a landmark institution for liberal New Yorkers."

"The Park Slope Food Coop vote, which took place Tuesday night during a three-hour virtual meeting attended by about 7,000 of the co-operative's 17,000 members, follows months of dueling campaigning that one local rabbi opposed to the boycott described as a proxy war. The boycott is supposed to impact some brands of tahini, peppers and persimmons as well as other products. Sixty-seven percent of participants voted in favor of the boycott."

"The pro-boycott faction led by Park Slope Food Coop Members in Solidarity with Palestine, and endorsed by more than two dozen advocacy groups including several Jewish ones argued that the boycott is in line with the co-op's long history of socially conscious shopping, and cited past boycotts of products from apartheid South Africa, and Chile under the Augusto Pinochet regime, as well as of several companies over their anti-labor or environmental practices."

"Our co-op has a long and proud tradition of more than 20 boycotts, said Alyce Barr, a member for nearly five decades and one of the boycott proposal's sponsors. We want to build on this tradition by boycotting Israeli products until Israel complies with international law."

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