Food from Israel: take or not to take?

In the assembly hall of the Brooklyn Technical School, a meeting of the Park Slope Park (food cooperatives arose in America about 40 years ago in order to have access to better food products at more affordable, wholesale prices). The proposal was discussed on the boycott of Israeli food goods in protest against the infringement of the rights of the Palestinians and the occupation of the original Palestinian lands. The opponents of Israel stumbled upon the very strong resistance of the supporters of Israel. In front of the entrance to the school, both were handed out leaflets. The queue of those who want to vote lined up huge. Almost 2 thousand shareholders came. In case of clashes, the police were called.

The food cooperative of the Brooklyn district Park Slope has more than 16 thousand members. There are few Israeli goods in their supermarket - Humus, Paprika, Selter water and two or three more items. However, recently, a group of missing activists has been trying to politicize the movement. The calls for the boycott of Israeli products were heard in cooperative supermarkets throughout America: in Sacramento, Seattle, Ann-Arbor ... When voting in all cities, except for one, the proposal was rejected by most cooperatives. The exception was a grocery cooperative in the city of Olympia, Washington. The decision of the cooperatives of the Olympia is disputed in court as illegal.

In New York, Senator Charles Schumer opposed the boycott of Israeli products:

- Boycoting Israel, in which human rights, women rights are observed many times more carefully than in all countries of the Middle East combined - this is absurd.

The professor of law from Harvard University Alan Dershovitz directly called the initiators of the boycott anti -Semites.

Near the building of the technical school, the leaflet in support of the boycott was distributed by Charlotte Phillips, a doctor by profession, the leader of the Brooklyn for Peace movement:

- The method of boycott we want to draw America's attention to the difficult position of the Palestinians and put pressure on Israel. Our government only speaks of a fair solution to the Palestinian problem, but does nothing for this.

- What should it do?

- Refuse Israel in military and financial assistance if Israel does not eliminate its illegal settlements and will not stop demolishing the Palestinians at home with bulldozers. The time has come for us, citizens of America, take our own measures. The boycott of Israeli products is our first step. I consider our victory already that we attracted such great attention both citizens and presses to this problem ...

A group of young people laid out Israeli products on the table. One of them points to a photo of a woman in a black scarf:

- This is a citizen of Israel, a Muslim, the owner of a business for the production of acute sauce, which is sold in America. A boycott can cause her, a Muslim, serious damage. But the Palestinians' rights fighters are not interested in this. They are not for the Palestinians. They are against Israel.

Several people stand with posters "for a referendum, for a boycott." A tall gray -haired gentleman explained with such a poster in his hand:

- We advocate the right to raise the issue of a boycott for voting, for the right of members of a grocery cooperative to decide what can be sold in our store and what is impossible. Therefore, we are for a referendum on a boycott and for the boycott of Israel just as we were for the boycott of South Africa, when there was an apartheid.

Despite the polarity of opinions, the discussion passed peacefully, civilized.

“You are connected with the Palestinian organization BDS and protect the Palestinian terrorists,” says the enemy of the boycott.

“No, we are opposing the Israeli terrorists,” the Boycott's supporter replies.

- What is one Israeli terrorist organization.

- Please, the Israeli government ...

A history teacher at the Brooklyn school opposed the boycott:

- The cooperative community exceeded its rights, engaged in issues of foreign policy. If someone does not want to buy Israeli products, let him not buy, this is their right. But they want everyone to do how they are. So the Nazis in the 30s began with a boycott of Jewish stores. The current supporters of the boycott of Israel are obsessed with blind fanaticism and anti -Semitism. They do not understand that the boycott of Israeli products will damage business in America and contradicts the interests of the consumer. How will we replace Israeli products? Palestinian products? What if Palestinians do nothing? The boycott of the products will follow the boycott of Israeli drugs, Israeli medical equipment? And the Americans themselves will suffer from this, because the Israeli discoveries in the field of medicine are the most innovative. If you boycott the products and goods of countries in which human rights are violated, then let's boycott the Syrian products, Turkish, Russian - and, most importantly, Chinese, because human rights are violated in these countries. How will we live without Chinese products? In short, all this is complete idiocy!

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653 members of the Brooklyn cooperative voted for the boycott of Israeli products. Protv - 1.005 people. The voting of a boycott was rejected by the overwhelming majority vote.

The leader of the Movement for the boycott of Israeli products, Irina Ivanova, regrets that the grocery cooperative chose, in her opinion, the anti -democratic path. Irina Ivanova promised that her group would not leave attempts to achieve victory. The mayor of Bloomberg called on New York in response to an offer to buy no less, but more Israeli products.

Since the BDS International St. Petersburg Organization, which has a lot of supporters in America, announced on March 30 by the World Boycot of Products and Food products from Israel, the charity non-commercial organization Buja Faundeishn, created by the Russian-speaking Americans Brooklyn, led by Raisa Chernina, came up with counter-Inian. On March 30, the day of Israeli goods and food products. To distribute to the poor grocery sets for Easter holidays, the organization purchased products exclusively Israeli production. These sets were intended mainly by Russian -speaking in need: disabled people, pensioners, unemployed. People of different nationalities volunteered to help pack and distribute festive sets: Russians, Jews, Italians, Chinese ...

Schoolboy Philip Bendersky packaged products on bags:

- I want Israeli products to be sold in America. I also want to help those in need of our Russian -speaking community.

Philip from his personal money collected for himself, wrote out a check for $ 100. The check gratitude was accepted by a member of the public council of Bi Praud Irina Yuryeva.

“For me, regardless of religion and nationality, the attitude to Israel is a lakmus piece of paper of decency,” says Elena Makhnina , a volunteer. - If you believe in democracy, in justice, in honesty, then the day of the boycott of Israeli goods should be the day of the purchase of Israeli goods.

“Israel is a friend of the United States,” recalls the chairman of the Public District Council of South Brooklyn Teresa Skvo . -We do not have many truly devoted friends to scatter them, and in the Middle East this is generally our only true ally. Why should we boycott what they supply to our country, abandon trade ties with our friend? Because of a group of fools in a grocery cooperative Park Slopet? Thank God they lost when voting. No sensible person will join the boycott of products and goods marked "made in Israel."

The auditor of the city of New York John Liu came to South Brooklyn to support the initiative of the BU PRUDE:

- I, as a person in an elected position, must be closer to the community whose interests I serve.

On this day, 500 bags of food were distributed - 100 more than last year. The initiative of the American Russian-speaking organization of Bi Praud Faundeishn self-help, which is neither religious, nor Jewish, nor political, caused broad public support in New York. But the main thing is that those who were helping with Israeli products for Easter were satisfied with the help of it very helpful.