Anti-Semitism at the Park Slope Co-Op

As Andrea Peyser, writer for the New York Post puts it, there is “yet another reason to avoid the People’s Republic of Park Slope: Members of the vaunted Park Slope Food Coop, where phony hipsters and lazy celebrities hire servants to work their monthly shifts, are working to ban Israeli-made products from the store’s plastic-free shelves.”

Referendum

The PSFC is planning on holding a general meeting on Tuesday, March 27 so its members can vote on whether or not to have a referendum on whether or not to join an organization called “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” against Israel.

Stop BDS

As usual these two groups, the BDS and the PSFC claim to represent freedom, justice and everything good in the world, but why is it so politically correct to boycott Israel without a whisper of complaint about the violence and oppression that the Arabs perpetrate against their own people, not to mention the terrorist attacks, kidnappings, rockets and more that are done to civilians in Israel in what used to be almost a daily basis.

And why is Israel the only country worthy of boycotting? Do Park Slopers pay any attention to the real crimes against humanity which are committed on a regular basis throughout the Muslim world, against Christians, minority sects of Islam, and just about any other religion which finds itself a minority in a Muslim country?

On a blog solely dedicated to “Stopping BDS at the PSFC” the following statement explains why BDS is bad:

The BDS movement does nothing to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians, or improve the lives of Palestinians.   Peace will come through a negotiated settlement between the 2 parties that will include mutual recognition of rights and national aspirations.   The BDS leadership works against peace by rejecting all cooperative endeavors between Israelis and Palestinians.   By placing all blame on one party only, and by ignoring context, the BDS movement serves to bolster the most rejectionist elements of the Palestinian cause.

The 3 demands of BDS are based on a faulty understanding of the relevant international law.   The real goal of BDS is to end the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.   Thus, BDS has been rejected over and over by every institution where it has tried to get an honest endorsement.   BDS looks forward to yet another stunning defeat at the Park Slope Food Coop.

Peyser adds, “The boycott of Holy Land staples, from seltzer to paprika to hummus, is more than a protest. It smacks of blatant anti-Semitism.”

Co-Op in an Uproar

The Wall Street Journal also reported on the upcoming vote, explaining that Joe Holtz, the co-op’s manager, is expecting at least 1,000 members of the PSFC to participate, a much larger number than who usually come to their monthly meetings, which are held at (ironically) a synagogue with a capacity of only 400 people.

Instead the venue for the meeting will be the auditorium of Brooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene.

Pass the Hummus, Please

The issue has raised the ire of many members of the PSFC in a much more divisive way than any other issue has in the past, including whether or not to stock beer in the co-op. Against the referendum is a subset of PSFC members who call themselves “More Hummus Please.” They believe that BDS is at least misguided and discriminatory, and their efforts look and feel a lot like anti-Semitism.

“I oppose BDS in general but I particularly oppose it for the food co-op because they are trying to impose a political point of view on an entire population that didn’t get together for the sake of supporting political causes, but got together to save on food,” said “More Hummus Please” founder Barbara Mazor, a 23-year member of the co-op and Orthodox Jew.

Mr. Holtz is worried because holding a referendum could cost the co-op many members.

‘It’s really strange thing because it’s not central to the operations of the coop,” he said. “But on the other hand it could have a drastic impact.”