Brooklyn's Park Slope Food Coop votes to boycott Israeli products

Members of the renowned Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn have voted to boycott Israeli products, with 67% of the 6,772 votes cast supporting the measure. This decision means that roughly a dozen Israeli goods will be removed from the shelves of the worker-owned grocery store.

The vote concluded a long-standing debate within the coop community regarding the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Tensions escalated significantly following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza, turning the sale of Israeli goods into a major point of contention among the coop's 16,000 members.

To pass the boycott, members first voted on a resolution to lower the required threshold from a 75% supermajority to a simple 51% majority, which passed with 68% of the vote. Subsequently, the resolution to boycott Israeli products was considered. The boycott resolution states that the coop will not sell goods produced in Israel (pre-1967 borders) or in Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory until Israel complies with international law.

Products affected include bell peppers, persimmons, olive oil, sesame products, Dorot frozen herb cubes, and the popular Israeli snack Osem Bamba. The vote was moved online due to the large number of participants and security concerns, as coop coordinators cited explicit fears for the safety of staff and members attending in person.