Civil Rights and the Park Slope Food Coop

 

From the Park Slope Food Coop’s mission statement:

"We are committed to diversity and equality, opposing discrimination in any form. We strive to make the Coop welcoming and accessible to all while respecting the opinions, needs, and concerns of every member."

Stating this commitment is one thing; defining and applying it fairly is another. The Coop's Membership Manual includes an Anti-Discrimination Policy "prohibiting any form of discrimination or harassment among members." The Coop will not tolerate discrimination against the classes listed in the NYC Human Rights law. 

In 1964, the landmark Civil Rights Act became law. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination. Title VI prohibits discrimination in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. The Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is tasked with assuring Title VI compliance at educational institutions receiving federal funds.

Although the Park Slope Food Coop membership is not bound by Titles VI and VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, these guidelines provide valuable standards for members’ behavior toward one another. The protections of Title VII, which apply to the paid staff, should also govern interactions between staff and members and among the members themselves.

The Coop is a communal membership organization.  In addition to its role as a grocery store, many members have viewed it as a venue for political advocacy, much like an educational institution. In this context, Coop management can and should voluntarily adopt the principles of Title VI, which protect students, to determine acceptable member activities. In other words, Coop activities should align with the expectations of the OCR, not because of the risk of losing federal funding or lawsuit, but because it is the right thing to do.

In January 2023, the OCR issued a Fact Sheet  stating:

Title VI’s protection from race, color, or national origin discrimination extends to students who experience discrimination, including harassment, based on their actual or perceived: (i) shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics; or (ii) citizenship or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity.

In 1994, the OCR determined that educational institutions receiving federal aid have a responsibility to maintain a nondiscriminatory educational environment, even if the administration is not directly responsible for all instances of harassing conduct.

Anti-Zionism is Discrimination

Anti-Zionism constitutes a form of national-origin-based discrimination.  It seeks to delegitimize Israel as a sovereign nation and deny the national identity and heritage of its citizens.  It aims to vilify and discredit one nation and its citizens while promoting differential treatment of Israelis and Israeli-Americans.

Moreover, anti-Zionism is a form of discrimination and harassment rooted in targeting Jewish ethnicity.  At its core, it denies Jewish peoplehood and the historic connection of Jewish people to the Land of Israel, also known as Palestine.  Jews are told they are not real Jews, but frauds and imposters who claim a shared national heritage.

Ever since October 7, 2023, the Park Slope Food Coop administration - both the managerial paid staff and the elite committees - has allowed promotion of anti-Zionism within the Coop.  The group Members 4 Palestine (M4P) is actively advocating for the Coop to join and endorse BDS.  BDS is an anti-Zionist tactic to normalize the call for the elimination of Israel as the sovereign nation-state of the Jewish people.

There has been verbal harassment and threats made against members opposing BDS. Jewish and Israeli members are being subjected to the demonizing BDS lies that have incited multiple violent attacks on Jews and property in Brooklyn, North America and Europe. BDS propaganda is shared during open forum at the General Meetings and in the letters and members submissions of the Linewaiters Gazette.  The management is engaged in finding a venue to host a large membership meeting to consider endorsing the elimination of Israel.

For Jewish and Israeli members, the current environment at PSFC is profoundly troubling. We are compelled to spend our valuable free time countering falsehoods, defending our identities, and preparing to oppose this measure if it is ever brought to a vote. This situation is making membership increasingly untenable for us.

Anti-Zionism is Not Protected Speech

I believe the activities of M4P are being tolerated at the Coop due to two fundamental misunderstandings:

1. The Nature of the BDS Movement: The BDS Movement is often misrepresented as merely political advocacy for changes to Israel’s policies. In reality, BDS is deeply intertwined with anti-Zionism and explicitly aims for the elimination of Israel. Those who claim otherwise are either deliberately misleading or have failed to thoroughly research the movement’s objectives.
2. The Concept of Freedom of Speech: There seems to be a misconception regarding what "freedom of speech" entails. While the government is prohibited from limiting or penalizing speech, the Coop, as a private institution, has the authority to establish and enforce a code of conduct that regulates speech within its community. In fact, we already have such codes, as outlined in the Linewaiters' Gazette guidelines and our Membership Manual. Additionally, the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) and the Equity Access and Community Committee (EACC) are tasked with addressing breaches of this code.

What Can Be Done?

The DRC and EACC serve as the Coop’s official channels for addressing complaints. Both committees have the authority to recommend mediation between parties. Despite receiving and addressing numerous complaints from both anti-Zionists and our side regarding specific incidents, the DRC has declined to pursue further engagement or mandate mediation. When it comes to our broader complaint about the creation of a hostile environment, the DRC redirected us to the EACC.

Unfortunately, the EACC's leadership has demonstrated a clear and vocal anti-Zionist bias. The current head of the EACC was among the most prolific and outspoken anti-Zionist letter writers in the Linewaiters' Gazette during our previous encounters with BDS advocacy. Historically, the EACC has refused to consider complaints related to this issue, leaving us with no confidence in its ability or willingness to address the civil rights concerns of Jewish and Israeli Coop members.

The Coop's management—comprising the paid staff, Agenda Committee, Chair Committee, and Gazette Committee—bears responsibility for fostering the environment within the Coop. Unless they can present a compelling argument that anti-Zionism does NOT constitute harassment, there should be an immediate moratorium on the following: BDS-related speech at General Meetings and in the Gazette, the inclusion of BDS-related agenda items, and efforts to secure a larger meeting space for such discussions.

Dialog is the Answer

From the very beginning of M4P’s anti-Zionist activities at the Coop, Coop 4 Unity has consistently extended invitations to M4P to meet and discuss shared goals. These overtures have been met with silence; not one has been acknowledged.

I sincerely hope that dialogue between M4P and Coop 4 Unity can become a reality. I believe M4P sees itself as advocating for Palestinian rights and pursuing a just resolution to the conflict. It may be they are unaware of the broader implications of their support for BDS and its intrinsic connection to anti-Zionism. At best, they are deeply misinformed; at worst, they are knowingly propagating harmful disinformation. BDS does not advance the cause of Palestinian development or peace—it perpetuates the dominance of totalitarian, terrorist organizations and sustains cycles of violence.

Ultimately, I envision both groups working towards a joint statement that calls for the release of hostages, the disarmament and surrender of Hamas, a commitment to deradicalization, and a shared effort to foster coexistence. More than anything, I want the Coop to return to being the enjoyable and productive community it once was, where mutual respect and collaboration thrive.

I am indebted to the Mosaic Magazine essay How the Incoming Administration Can Restore Jewish Civil Rights by Tal Fortgang for the ideas in this post.

The underscores in the quoted material are mine.

What's an Anti-Zionist?

 

This December 3, 2024 interview of Times of Israel journalist Haviv Rettig Gur with Michael Moynihan of the The Free Press is worth watching in its entirety.

At around 48:00 minutes, Haviv address anti-Zionism. Slightly edited for clarity, he says: 

 What's an anti-Zionist?

An anti-Zionist is someone who thinks Israel should never have been founded.

That's a really interesting argument because every other Jew in the Eastern hemisphere is dead. What's the argument? Is the argument that the Jews who couldn't get into the West as the pressure was building in Eastern Europe and in Central Europe and in the Arab world because of immigration quotas and laws against them should have been able to get into the West? They should have had other choices other than to become Israeli. Is that the argument? I agree with that, if that's the argument. It would have been really nice if the whole world had opened their doors to these desperate refugees 10 seconds before their genocide, but it didn't.

Or is the argument that those Jews should just have died. They should just have died. Israel is the last living Jew in the Eastern hemisphere...

Jews were emptied out of everywhere. As the world homogenized few places did it as completely and perfectly as the Arab world. The Arab world is still in the process of brutally homogenizing. The Jews found one place, one Refuge, across three continents. The Jews had been living in Baghdad a thousand years before the Arab speakers got to Baghdad.   In 1930 there's a  census of where 25% of the city is Jewish in 1960 there's 0%. 0% of the city is Jewish.  It was twice as Jewish as New York and then 30 years later it's zero Jews. The Arab world empties out every Jew...

Is the argument that they should have died? 

Either your argument is history should have gone differently. In which case, I'm with you. It's a damn shame that Zionism turned out to be so prescient and correct. Or your argument is those Jews should have died and then I would be able to sleep better at night. Well then, you're a genocidal asshole. Or you're a Zionist.

PSFC Board of Directors Election

If you are a member of Park Slope Food Coop, you probably received an email on May 24 with voting instructions for the upcoming elections for 2 open positions on the Board of Directors.

Vote "YES" for Ramon Maislen and Sondra Shaievitz. They are the Coop 4 Unity candidates. They have most experience and years of membership than all the other candidates. They will protect our Coop.

Make sure to vote "NO" for Tess Brown-Lavoi and Keyian Vafai. They are the candidates from the group that wants to boycott Israel. We don't know what they would do if elected to the Board, and we don't want to find out!

Sign up for the Coop 4 Unity email list and/or WhatsApp group, 

12 Years Later - It's Deja Vu All Over Again

They're back. Or should I say there is a new crop of adorable children trying to get the Coop to endorse the BDS movement. The brutality of the October 7 attacks has roused their blood, and they feel emboldened to attack the Jews in Brooklyn. Perhaps not physically - yet. 

And so, we are organizing and fighting back. And we will succeed.

NYC City Council to Vote on anti-BDS Resolution

Resolution 1058-A, “A resolution condemning all efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the global movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction the people of Israel.” is scheduled for a vote on September 14 by the New York City Council.

I hope this will pass and I hope the members of the Council's Progressive Caucus will vote for it as well.  BDS falsely markets itself as a "progressive" cause.  Too many progressives are duped into supporting BDS because of confirmation bias and lack of knowledge about  a complex issue.

Let's be clear. Bigotry is not progressive.  Discrimination is not progressive. Defamation is not progressive.  Ignoring, denying or justifying violence is not progressive.  Denying history is not progressive. Distorting and selectively quoting international law is not progressive.

The BDS movement ignores the role of Arab anti-Jewish attitudes in the development of opposition to legal Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel during the pre-State and Ottoman periods.  The BDS movement denies the Jewish people their identity as a unique group with a national history and right to self-determination.  The BDS movement singles out the world's only Jewish for opprobrium.  The BDS movement falsely represents Israel.  The BDS movement ignores the existence, incitement and actions of Palestinian terror groups dedicated to targeting and murdering Jews - anywhere in the world.  The BDS movement's activities on American college campuses correlates with acts of violence, harassment and intimidation of Jewish students.

This is from the testimony of New York City Jewish Community Relations Council CEO Michael Miller to the Council last week.

BDS tactics are one-sided and are focused solely on eliminating Israel. BDS turns a blind eye to Palestinian actions which seek to undermine a two state solution, such as terrorism, indiscriminate rocket fire on civilian areas, repeated refusals to negotiate for peace, and unfortunate rejections of Israeli offers for Palestinian statehood. Rather than focusing on improving the situation for both peoples, BDS activists sabotage the internationally-backed peace process  hat is premised on advancing mutual understanding and respect between the parties.

Economic boycotts and divestment actions will not help the Palestinian people. The path to the two-state solution depends on creating an atmosphere of peace and reconciliation combined with economic development and political achievement. Blocking that path is the BDS Movement.

If you believe in the right of the Jewish people to be safe and secure in their historic homeland, I urge you to support this resolution.

If you believe in the right of the Palestinian people to their own state alongside, but not instead of, Israel, I urge you to support this resolution.

If you believe in a true peace process and oppose divisive, destructive tactics that attempt to cripple our ally Israel, I urge you to support this resolution.

If you believe that together, we can play a constructive role in ensuring that Israelis and Palestinians can work toward achieving mutual understanding, cooperation, and a better future for themselves, their children, and their grandchildren, I urge you to support this resolution.

If you are a New York City resident please contact your Council representative and say you support Resolution 1058-A

BDS Does Not Belong in the Park Slope Food Coop

I submitted the following letter to the Coop's biweekly newspaper., the Linewaiters' Gazette (LWG).  It was rejected for publication. I will address the reasons given for rejection in a separate post.

“Zionists should be sent to the gas chambers,” someone wrote on a bathroom wall at UC Berkeley – ground-zero of the BDS movement in the United States. “Death to Israel,” “Kill all the Jews” and multiple swastika graffiti have also been found on the Berkeley campus. These are the fruits of the hate promoted by the BDS movement.

Apparently it is a crime worthy of genocide to recognize the Jewish People as a distinct national group with a unique history, language, and culture, and to support their right to self-determination and self-preservation as an indigenous people in a portion of their ancestral homeland that is source of their culture. Further, by calling for this genocide is to be carried out using the same mechanism specifically designed by the Nazis for the extermination of the Jews 75 years earlier, the writer implies approval for the actual murder of one-third of world Jewry.

In our own Coop, a BDS supporting member has publicly expressed the desire that Orthodox Jews not be Coop members. In the Gazette, BDS members have:

• called for the support of a leading member of the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (3/8/12,p.6).
• equated Israel with Nazi Germany (12/11/14, p.7).
• told Jews how they should understand their Jewishness (8/21/14, p.13 & 10/30/14, p.13)
• called for the dismantling of Israel (6/16/11, p. 10).

None of this has any relation to Palestinian human rights. None of this can be called “criticism of Israel.”

Well-intentioned people may support the BDS movement because they believe they are supporting Palestinian human rights. However, the BDS movement does not promote rights or democracy. It seeks to portray Israel’s very existence as incompatible with human rights. In doing so, it works to justify attacks upon Israel and Israel’s supporters.

In April, former U.S. Treasury Terrorism Analyst Jonathan Schanzer testified before Congress that the funders of the BDS movement in the US were also funders of Hamas, the terrorist group whose charter calls not only for the elimination of Israel but also the murder of ALL JEWS everywhere. The BDS movement is a part of a century-old effort of an elite, despotic Arab leadership to maintain its hegemony. The BDS movement works to further entrench a Palestinian leadership that has enriched itself through the prolongation of the conflict at the expense of the Palestinian people.

This is why so many of us oppose the BDS movement, and why I labeled it a “vicious racist movement.” This is not speech that should be protected in the Coop. The GCs’ decision to no longer allow the use of the meeting room for BDS-related activities is a wise one and a step in the right direction for returning normalcy to the Coop.

If you agree it is time to end the promotion of the BDS movement in the Food Coop, then please add your name to my petition.

Is Anti-Zionism a form of Anti-Semitism?

The Pope's answer:

In an email we got from Pope Francis:"Whoever does not recognize the Jewish People and the State of Israel falls in antisemitism"

— Henrique Cymerman (@Henrique_B_C) May 28, 2015

and on October 28, 2015, Pope Francis said at a meeting with Jewish leaders to mark the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate

“To attack Jews is anti-Semitism, but an outright attack on the State of Israel is also anti-Semitism.  There may be political disagreements between governments and on political issues, but the State of Israel has every right to exist in safety and prosperity.”

And President Obama, in an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, in the Atlantic

On Israel, Obama endorsed, in moving terms, the underlying rationale for the existence of a Jewish state, making a direct connection between the battle for African American equality and the fight for Jewish national equality. “There’s a direct line between supporting the right of the Jewish people to have a homeland and to feel safe and free of discrimination and persecution, and the right of African Americans to vote and have equal protection under the law,” he said. “These things are indivisible in my mind.”

In discussing the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe, he was quite clear in his condemnation of what has become a common trope—that anti-Zionism, the belief that the Jews should not have a state of their own in at least part of their ancestral homeland, is unrelated to anti-Jewish hostility. He gave me his own parameters for judging whether a person is simply critical of certain Israeli policies or harboring more prejudicial feelings.

“Do you think that Israel has a right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people, and are you aware of the particular circumstances of Jewish history that might prompt that need and desire?” he said, in defining the questions that he believes should be asked. “And if your answer is no, if your notion is somehow that that history doesn’t matter, then that’s a problem, in my mind. If, on the other hand, you acknowledge the justness of the Jewish homeland, you acknowledge the active presence of anti-Semitism—that it’s not just something in the past, but it is current—if you acknowledge that there are people and nations that, if convenient, would do the Jewish people harm because of a warped ideology. If you acknowledge those things, then you should be able to align yourself with Israel where its security is at stake, you should be able to align yourself with Israel when it comes to making sure that it is not held to a double standard in international fora, you should align yourself with Israel when it comes to making sure that it is not isolated.”