Proposed Ban Roiling Park Slope Co-op
A neighborhood institution known for its earnestness and political correctness, the Park Slope Co-op now finds itself at the center of a mounting media circus revolving around a recent proposal by a member to ban products from Israel as a statement of protest against the state’s recent actions in Gaza. About 10 people reportedly support…
A neighborhood institution known for its earnestness and political correctness, the Park Slope Co-op now finds itself at the center of a mounting media circus revolving around a recent proposal by a member to ban products from Israel as a statement of protest against the state’s recent actions in Gaza. About 10 people reportedly support the measure; the Co-op has about 15,000 members. While on a practical level all that’s at stake here is a few boxes of peppers and persimmons, the symbolism is causing controversy throughout the neighborhood and beyond. There are so many Jews who shop there, there are so many Israelis who shop there, there’s a huge number of frum people from all over Brooklyn who shop there, said Rabbi Andy Bachman of Beth Elohim in the original article in the Jewish Daily Forward, so my guess is that if it passes, and I want to emphasize that I don’t think it will, they will lose a lot of members. Assemblyman Dov Hikind echoed these sentiments: “[The co-op would] lose a great number of people,” he told The Post. Even TimeOut New York has chimed in: “The motion feels born from the very stiff and self-righteous soapbox awareness that many naysayers feel makes the Co-op unpalatable under normal circumstances,” writes TONY, making to sure to add “we support the Co-op’s open forum for this kind of divisive dialogue.” Still no word on where Adrian Grenier stands on the issue.
Food Fight: Brooklyn Co-op Mulls Israel Ban [Forward]
Park Slope Co-op to Ban Israeli Products? [TONY]
‘Ban Israel’ Bid Mushrooms Into B’klyn Food Fight [NY Post]
Photo by pseudoreal
Just because someone’s a liberal doesn’t automatically make them pro-Palestinian. I’m a lib, but frankly I think the situation in the Middle East is an equal opportunity stupid party.
Maybe only 10 people are supportive because the majority of co-op people are smart enough to see both sides of the story. FYI- Jews have a reputation for being heavily liberal (75% of us voted for Obama)- and there are quite a few Jewish co-op members. Maybe the majority of co-op members just don’t see the need to encourage divisiveness and partisanship, especially in regards to a complex and painful situation.
Late to the party but kind of surprised only 10 people are supportive. I was listening to the BBC World Report at 5 am recently, some Israeli dude was accusing Dan Damon (the host) and liberals in general of being pro-Palestinian, which I always thought they were.
Just another in the long list of ridiculously unrealistic things proposed at the coop. A couple years ago, someone proposed the coop invent in jars of Himalayan air, which would be placed in the corners of the store and opened every morning and closed back up every night (to keep the air from escaping, I guess). What a circus!
cwb- I have a friend in need of desperate technical website help. Has a Manhattan store and the website is a mess- technical stuff far beyond my abilities. Anyway I can contact you to give you more info and if you’re interested,see what you think?
DIBS – well, if they need people to design web pages, sure. I’m not lugging shopping carts around in the freezing-ass cold, though. 😛
cw…I believe, from a discussion on here a few months ago, that both of you will have to work there as ALL household members are required, not just one who joins.
Yeh, I think it’s for prospective members to evaluate it. I don’t know … currently neither MrsCWB nor I are members, altho she’s considering it, since it’s literally a 15 second walk away from our building. Right now we mostly use Fresh Direct and/or Union Market on 6th.
quote:
they let guests in for one visit
hahahaha. hmm. i guess that’s just to see if you like it? i just wanna see what it looks like (fyi not to cause trouble).
*r*
Rob, they let guests in for one visit, I think.