50/FIFTY

Today's stories, rewritten neutrally

WorldMay 27

Brooklyn Food Co-op Votes to Boycott Israeli Products After Contentious Debate

The Park Slope Food Coop voted 67% in favor of boycotting about a dozen Israeli products following months of divisive campaigning among members.

Synthesized from 4 sources

The Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn voted Tuesday night to boycott approximately a dozen products from Israel and Israeli settlements, ending years of contentious debate within the storied cooperative.

The virtual meeting, which lasted three hours, was attended by about 7,000 of the cooperative's 17,000 members. Sixty-seven percent of participants voted in favor of the boycott measure.

The boycott will affect products including certain brands of tahini, peppers, and persimmons, among other items. The debate over the proposal had been ongoing for years within the cooperative, which serves as a landmark institution for liberal New Yorkers.

The meeting was moved to a Zoom-only format after safety concerns were raised. More than half of the cooperative's members had initially signed up to attend what was originally planned as an in-person gathering.

The vote followed months of campaigning on both sides of the issue. One local rabbi who opposed the boycott characterized the debate as a "proxy war" over a conflict occurring thousands of miles away.

The Park Slope Food Coop, established decades ago, requires members to work shifts in exchange for access to discounted groceries and has long been known for its progressive politics and community activism.

Sources (4)

Bias Scale:
LeftCenterRight

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first!