The anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) has become a polarizing issue on college campuses and within academic associations, but now it appears that BDS may be coming to a food co-op in Park Slope, Brooklyn. And a pro-Israel legal group is promising to sue if it does.
A co-op faction calling itself "Park Slope Food Coop Members for Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions" launched a wordpress site where it posted a manifesto arguing that the co-op should endorse BDS.
The site explains:
We are members of the Park Slope Food Coop who affirm, like its founders, that the Coop as a community stands for human rights, food justice, and positive global interdependence. In keeping with these values, we believe that the Coop should join the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS).
The pro-BDS faction introduced the idea of boycotting Israeli products, in particular those from highly popular Israeli company SodaStream, which makes equipment to produce carbonated drinks, at a meeting in late April. As the group describes on their website, this proposal incited controversy and chaos.
Within 4 minutes of our presentation, opposition members exploded into jeers and catcalls as our discussion included a power-point presentation illustrating how SodaStream is produced under Israeli Occupation. Many of them jumped out of their seats as images of maps of the West Bank and photos of Israeli military abuse against Palestinian civilians revealed the realities of the Occupation. The meeting quickly became unmanageable with verbally abusive shouts and insults coming from the supporters of Israeli policy. They came within inches of us, yelling that we were “anti-semitic,” “anti-Jewish,” and “lying” claiming that the images of military oppression were “out of context.”
A co-op faction opposing BDS responds on their website:
The Coop's Mission Statement includes:
We are committed to diversity and equality. We oppose discrimination in any form. We strive to make the Coop welcoming and accessible to all and to respect the opinions, needs and concerns of every member. We seek to maximize participation at every level, from policy making to running the store.
We welcome all who respect these values.
Yet, from time to time, for better or worse, because of the nature of Food Coop governance relies on the cooperative spirit and good will of its members, food coops - like colleges - are left vulnerable to exploitation by groups seeking to promote their political causes.
The question may be moot if the Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center, a pro-Israel legal group, follows through on promised litigation if the Coop decides to adopt BDS.
In a letter sent Monday morning to Park Slope Food Coop (PSFC) President William Penner and General Manager Joseph Holtz, Shurat HaDin cautions the Coop officers that instituting such a boycott would violate New York law.
The letter, signed by attorneys Robert Tolchin and Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, states, "the BDS movement’s efforts are unlawful racial discrimination on the basis of national origin and/or race, creed and religion under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (“Anti-Racism Convention”) and numerous U.S. state and federal statutes."
It adds that "a boycott is not protected by the freedom-of-speech language of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because a boycott is not speech, it is action."
Shurat HaDin Director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner explained the letter in more emphatic language:
Boycotts are not protected speech and they are actionable in NY under both criminal and civil law as illegal discrimination. The BDS movement, which spreads racist lies and promotes violence is inherently biased and prejudicial and has an extremist agenda that unfairly singles out Israel and Jews. The PSFC should understand those promoting BDS' policies seek solely the destruction of the State of Israel and its Jewish community. The PSFC and its leaders would be wise to consider the severe economic harm its going face if it illegally acts to discriminate against Israeli companies or product.
