The members of the Park Slope Food Co-op voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to boycott Israeli products, approving a measure hailed by supporters as a moral stand in defense of Palestinian rights but castigated by opponents as an endorsement of an antisemitic movement to eliminate Israel.
The measure was approved by a wide margin of more than 2 to 1, reflecting the depth of dismay in one of New York’s most progressive and well-heeled neighborhoods at Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. Sixty-seven percent of those who voted approved the boycott, and 31 percent opposed, while 2 percent abstained.
The co-op has long embodied the political concerns and consumption habits of many Brooklyn liberals and is sometimes mocked as the fastidious superego of one of the borough’s most expensive neighborhoods.
But the push to ban Israeli products drew public attention far beyond Park Slope’s leafy streets and alarmed Jewish leaders who saw the campaign as a hyperlocal manifestation of rising antisemitism.
The co-op will boycott goods produced in Israel and Israeli products made in the occupied Palestinian territories until Israel abides by international law, including by ending discriminatory treatment of Palestinians in any territory under Israel’s control, according to the text of the approved measure.
The boycott will apply to a small number of goods, including some produce, several brands of tahini, olive oil and hair care products.
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