Park Slope Food Co-op votes 67% to boycott Israel products
The Park Slope Food Co-op voted Tuesday night to boycott products from Israel, with 67% of members backing the measure in the slope institution. The Brooklyn co-op has more than 17,000 members, and the vote follows years of internal debate over whether to remove the small number of Israeli products it carries.
Park Slope Food Co-op vote
Sarah Wellington told members during the debate, "I advocate for the nonviolent resistance towards the liberation of Palestine through boycotting Israeli products." Her remarks came as members weighed a measure that had been discussed inside the co-op since 2009 and gained momentum in 2023 after the war in Gaza began following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
The co-op said it currently carries only a few products from Israel, including ecoLove shampoo and conditioner and Al Arz tahini. Members work at the co-op in exchange for shopping access, so the vote now sits inside a workplace and shopping system that includes more than 17,000 people.
Debate inside Brooklyn co-op
Gabriel Young, a co-op member and member of Park Slope Food Co-op for Palestine, said, "When I see Israeli products stocked on the shelves, even though I’m not buying them, I’m disturbed by the fact that I know that my labor and my money is going toward the purchase of goods from a country that is committing genocide and overseeing apartheid." He also said, "Although this is just one block in central Brooklyn, this co-op can set an example that can spread to other cooperatives, other institutions, to universities and labor unions."
Other members argued against the boycott. Chase Madar said, "I think supporting Israel right now is a no-brainer thing not to do." An unnamed member said, "I think it’s a little performative. I think it’s a little ridiculous. Is the world going to change because people buy hummus from a co-op?" Patrick McMulty said, "I really don’t understand how boycotting Israeli products is going to move forward their agenda." Greg Selig added, "They’re in your face and they let you know where they stand, and you’re just like, ‘Hey man, I’m just here to shop,’"
Co-op history
A representative for the co-op said the debate had been contentious and emotionally charged, and the co-op hired security because of concerns about staff and member safety. The organization, founded in 1973, has boycotted goods from apartheid South Africa and Chile in the past, giving Tuesday night’s vote a place in a longer pattern of internal decisions on products and politics.
For members, the practical change is narrow but real: the co-op has voted to boycott products from Israel, and the decision now defines what can remain on a small set of shelves in the store. For other cooperatives, the more immediate question is whether the Brooklyn vote becomes the example Young described, or stays inside Park Slope.
