The Brooklynites Who Want To Boycott Israel

The Brooklynites Who Want To Boycott Israel

"We are African-American, Arab, Asian, European-American, Latina/o, and South Asian. We are Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, & agnostics. We are educators, students, librarians, designers, non-profit workers, medical professionals, business people and artists. We are people of all ages. We are like you," coos  the 16,000-member strong Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn.

"We believe that the PSFC should join the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). BDS is a nonviolent tactic recently adopted by the decades-long Palestinian movement to end Israel’s violent and illegal occupation of their lands, gain equal rights, and achieve peace, freedom and economic stability.

We think that joining the BDS movement will help send a message to Israel that it must honor international law and human rights. It will also make the PSFC a more welcoming place for all people who want justice realized in Palestine. And taken in a larger context, we believe that BDS is one of multiple ways to participate in the global struggle against all forms of oppression."

So they're taking a vote on the issue late next month.

Comments  journalist Yori Yanover in a fuller article here:

'I can just see it now: Prime Minister Netanyahu’s red phone is ringing, it’s 3 in the morning, Israel’s ambassador to the US is on the line – Sir, we’re losing the food co-op near Prospect Park. If the co-op boycotts us, we’re doomed. – Fine, fine, just tell those settlers to pack up the suitcases and get on the trucks, they’ll understand…

Naturally, this whole boycott and sanctions thing is not at all about the realities of the Middle East, concerning which the sum total of most Americans’ knowledge can be written on the pinky fingernail of a small child. This is about the Jews of Park Slope being embarrassed about their other country and how colonialist it makes them look at mixers. Because they clearly write:

“It will also make the PSFC a more welcoming place for all people who want justice realized in Palestine. And taken in a larger context, we believe that BDS is one of multiple ways to participate in the global struggle against all forms of oppression.”

Naturally, we’re against oppression everywhere, but we’ll go after the Jews first.'

 Update: More on the PSFC website here - what I earlier described above as its website is in fact a BDS website that carries its statement.  Fortunately, there's a fightback:see this blog and Like the Facebook page"Stop BDS at Park Slope Food Coop"