Food Politics

Park Slope Food Coop Agonizes Over Israeli Food Boycott, Again

Tougher than the vote on banning bottled water.
Tougher than the vote on banning bottled water. Photo: Paul Lowry/Flickr

After taking a close look at the debate at the Park Slope Food Coop over its latest possible boycott of all foods imported from Israel, the Observer turns to “world leader” (and Brooklyn native) Alan Dershowitz for guidance. For his part, Dershowitz indicates it’s a slippery slope. “The next thing they’ll be doing is calling for an end to circumcision,” he says. Elsewhere, the Observer tries to convey the intensely microcosmic world of member politics and painstakingly worded referendums at the Coop. Does a ban on food from Israel amount to anti-Semitism? Should they ban Palestinian pickles, too, which “had caused no problems”? Finally, the referendum results come in at 13 for and 9 against, which an anti-boycott organizer considers “not really surprising, because the approximate 60:40 split, more or less, mirrors public opinion polls on Israel.” [NYO]

Park Slope Food Coop Agonizes Over Israeli Food Boycott, Again