NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Members of the Park Slope Food Coop will decide whether or not to put a controversial ban on Israeli products to a coop-wide referendum at tonight’s general meeting.
They will not be voting on whether to join the Israel boycott itself. If a referendum is approved, all 16,000 Coop members will then finally decide whether to enact the boycott. If rejected, it will bring the issue to a halt, for now.
“The Coop recognizes that its member-owners stand on both sides of the debate over the [boycott] movement, reflecting the diversity of the Coop membership that we value deeply,” the Coop said on their website. “Furthermore, we know that groups of members have organized themselves to promote and to oppose a referendum to decide if the Coop will be boycotting Israeli products. The Coop functions as a democracy–an intrinsic principle of a cooperative–and we hope our members exercise their responsibilities as member-owners thoughtfully and seriously.”
Only active members of the coop with photo ID will be allowed in to the meeting, which takes place at 7 p.m. tonight at Brooklyn Tech High School.
Proponents say the ban is a protest against what they see as anoccupation of Palestinian territories. Monday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg blasted it.
“Israel is one of the few friends that America has that is dependable and represents everything that America stands for,” Bloomberg said. “”We should be encouraging Israel to have more business with us and us with them, not discouraging it.”
As for “occupation” as a political subtext for the proposed boycott, Bloomberg doesn’t see it that way.
“I think this has nothing to do with the food, the issue is there are people who want Israel to be torn apart and everybody to be massacred, and America’s not going to let that happen,” Bloomberg said.
According to the New York Times, other city officials have joined with Bloomberg in opposing the boycott. The Times reports that City Council Speaker Christine Quinn called the idea “ill conceived” while Public Advocate Bill de Blasio blasted it as “madness.” Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer reportedly called the proposed boycott “an anti-Semitic crusade.”
According to the Coop’s website, the only Israeli products they carry are the Sodastream seltzer maker and replacement cartridges, paprika, couscous, olive pesto or tapenade, vegan marshmallows and organic yellow peppers.
