A New York City food cooperative turned ugly after pro-Palestinian members called for a ban on Israeli products.
Jewish members of the historic Park Slope Food Co-op have described how they have been hit with anti-Semitic comments for opposing the campaign to boycott any products from Israel amid the war in Gaza.
One woman was even told she smelled “Palestinian blood,” according to a complaint filed by real estate developer Ramon Maislen who was obtained by the New York Post.
Maislen and others said that when they reported it to the cooperative’s Dispute Resolution Committee they received no response.
As a result, Maislen has raised her concerns with the New York State Division of Human Rights.
Real estate developer Ramon Maislen filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights, claiming that he and other Jewish members of the Park Slope Food Co-op have been harassed for opposing an attempt to boycott Israeli products.
The cooperative was founded in 1973 and requires its 16,000 members to work two-hour and forty-five-minute shifts every six weeks in exchange for the privilege of purchasing deeply discounted food and voting on store policies.
It had previously faced another campaign to boycott Israeli products in 2012, which was later denied: the cooperative voted to change its bylaws so that a boycott could only be approved by a 75 percent majority. according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
But the problem arose again on October 31, 2023, when a member suggested at a monthly general meeting that the cooperative implement a boycott, divestment and sanctions program.
Initially, the idea was “met with applause” and members of the Park Slope Members for Palestine food cooperative began campaigning in front of the store asking other members to sign a request join the BDS movement.
That prompted another group, known as Coop Members for Unity, to hand out fliers urging “rejection of the intolerance, division and animosity created by the BDS/Israel boycott campaign and its corrosive effects on our community.” Forward reporting.
The cooperative was founded in 1973 and requires its 16,000 members to work two-hour and forty-five-minute shifts every six weeks in exchange for the privilege of purchasing deeply discounted food and voting on store policies.
For months afterward, the issue spilled over into the board vote and the pages of the cooperative’s newsletter, with members accusing others of making the store an unwelcome place for Jews.
One woman even reported that she was afraid of being yelled at when she bought matzah made in Jerusalem before Passover.
Others, however, spoke of their guilt for eating Israeli food while children in Gaza starve, and at least one person accused the cooperative of being unwelcome to Muslims for not displaying Ramadan food and for fomenting sentiment. anti-muslim printing letters. who accuse BDS of anti-Semitism.
In February, editors put a note at the top of their Letters section noting that there would be a month-long pause on Middle East-related letters to review their submission policy.
Members of the Park Slope food cooperative Members for Palestine have been campaigning in front of the store asking other members to sign a petition to join the BDS movement.
However, problems continued to persist, and one Jewish woman claimed that while trying to inform passersby about the boycott effort in May, she was confronted by a shopper who called her a Nazi.
The hateful member began to walk away, but not before yelling ‘Sieg Heil’ at the 35-year-old, according to Maislen’s petition.
“Anti-Semitic things have happened to me, but so publicly, so blatantly, with that language… I was really shocked,” the unidentified woman told the Post.
He said he has yet to return to the store or work there after his complaint to the co-op’s Dispute Resolution Committee was met with a half-hearted apology, saying the community grocery store is “no longer a welcoming space.” , for Israelis, for Jews.’
Maislen also said he was harassed by a deranged member outside the grocery store, who told him that Zionists “can’t have empathy,” and in late June, a member of a Jewish-Israeli cooperative who was discussing presidential candidates supporter of the boycott during her shift was harassed by another woman who espoused anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, including that Jews celebrated the rape and murder of young Palestinians.
The member said she couldn’t work or be around the Jewish woman because she smelled “like Palestinian blood.”
The store only sells a handful of Israeli products, such as Sabra hummus.
Sonda Shaievitz also told JTA that at one point a man stood in front of her yelling, “She’s a Zionist to anyone who would listen.”
She and others have since said that arguments about a possible boycott are violating the cooperative’s history of lively discussions and its commitment to “oppose discrimination.”
“I used to go there at least five times a week; a lot of people did that,” Shaievitz recounted.
‘Now I try to go as far as I can without having to go back. I try to stock up when I go and that makes me very sad.’
Jonathan Aranov also said that throughout the winter discussions in favor of the boycott “totally influenced all interactions.”
“Every time you want to go shopping, you think, ‘Am I emotionally ready for this?'” he said.
‘I’ve had to remind myself that I’m living in Brooklyn, which will already be a very progressive neighborhood, and that I’m going to the co-op, which will be an even more progressive institution.
“Unfortunately, much of the progressive movement has become this insidious anti-Israel movement.”
The Park Slope Food Cooperative for Palestine insists that the boycott is necessary “to take a principled stand against genocide” and “to put material economic pressure on Israeli companies complicit in apartheid.”
Meanwhile, the pro-boycott group, known as Park Slope Food Cooperative Members for Palestine, continues its petition to remove Israeli foods from the store, which currently only sells a handful of Israeli products, namely Sabra hummus.
Their petition has garnered more than 1,000 signatures and the group is now putting plans in place to hold a boycott vote.
He has also proposed several related actions, including pushing for the co-op to adopt “hybrid” general meetings so that space limitations don’t end up delaying important votes among members and reducing the current 75 percent majority to pass a boycott to a simple majority. .
Park Slope Food Co-op for Palestine insists that the boycott is necessary “to take a principled stance against genocide” and “to put material economic pressure on Israeli companies complicit in apartheid,” according to its website.
Supporters also hope the co-op’s enormous fame will influence other food co-ops across the country to institute their own boycotts.
“The cooperative is a unique institution with an equally unique history as one of the largest and oldest food cooperatives in the country,” an open letter reads.
“Adding our voice to this issue will not go unnoticed and will set a positive example for other food co-ops in and outside of New York City.”
However, several Jewish members told JTA that they would resign from the cooperative if a vote was held to boycott Israeli products.
DailyMail.com has contacted the food cooperative and the New York State Division of Human Rights for comment.
