{"id":545,"date":"2026-05-27T06:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T06:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=545"},"modified":"2026-05-27T06:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T06:08:15","slug":"park-slope-food-coop-passes-controversial-israel-boycott-in-divisive-chaotic-meet-attended-by-over-7k-members","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=545","title":{"rendered":"Park Slope Food Coop passes controversial Israel boycott in divisive, chaotic meet attended by over 7K members"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Park Slope Food Coop members approved a boycott of Israeli goods Tuesday night \u2014 following a years-long food fight that has turned vicious.<\/p>\n

Read more Fox News reporter\u2019s searing response to foul-mouthed anti-ICE protester who interrupts live shot<\/a><\/p>\n

Over 7000 of the co-op\u2019s 15,000 members attended the meeting \u2014 which had to be shifted to Zoom only after Jewish attendees cited \u201cexplicit fears\u201d for their safety if they attended in person.<\/p>\n

The huge turnout, which many said was the largest in the co-op\u2019s 53 year history, comes after months of heated debate at the Brooklyn institution that has spilled out on the lefty enclave\u2019s streets.<\/p>\n

The boycott passed by a vote of 67 percent in favor to 31 percent against, with 2 percent abstaining.<\/p>\n

The debate over whether the co-op should join the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement over a handful of Israeli groceries led to an antisemitic outburst at a meeting last month, as well as accusations the Jewish members were supporting genocide. <\/p>\n

The co-op\u2019s last Israel boycott vote, in 2012, drew only 2,000 attendees. Usual meetings can range from 50 to 200 members, according to Ramon Maislen, a longtime co-op member.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coop used to feel like Brooklyn\u2019s living room; now every meeting feels like judgment day at noon,\u201d Maislen said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever our politics, we should be able to disagree without condemning one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s meeting\u2019s agenda included routine business-like elections to the Revolving Loan Committee and the Pension Education Committee.<\/p>\n

But the main event was a pair of votes over voting thresholds for boycotts, and whether to remove Israeli hummus, matzo, and other goods from shelves. <\/p>\n

While all members can vote, the co-op board votes at the end, and their vote is decisive, Maislen says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re supposed to be influenced by membership votes, but they are technically not required to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The meeting itself descended into chaos after the Zoom polling malfunctioned, and took multiple attempts to get right. At one point a motion to postpone the entire meeting was put forward.<\/p>\n

Read more Biden sues Justice Department to stop release of audio, transcripts tied to special counsel probe<\/a><\/p>\n

But, as the meeting stretched into its third hour, members voted by a show of hands to keep going. <\/p>\n

And eventually, well after 9pm, the first key vote of the night \u2014 the procedural maneuver to lower the threshold for boycotting products from 75% to a simple majority \u2014 got underway. <\/p>\n

61 percent of members voted to restore the simple majority rule, 38 percent voted no, and 1 percent abstained. The change took effect immediately, impacting the following boycott vote.<\/p>\n

The second was the vote on the actual ban, which passed with the 67 percent majority. <\/p>\n

Had the supermajority requirement held, the boycott would not have passed. <\/p>\n

Almost immediately, many Jewish members expressed outrage at a motion earlier in the meeting \u2014 which passed \u2014 to move straight to voting on the boycott without allowing any anti-boycott proponents to speak up. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe motion was proposed after only the pro BDS group spoke,\u201d one attendee, who preferred to remain anonymous, told The Post. \u201cIt\u2019s horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time in 15 years an item has been voted on without discussion,\u201d a disgusted attendee at the meet noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely see a lawsuit coming,\u201d another told The Post. \u201cEspecially if you change voting rules the same night a vote is set to occur.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahead of the meeting, co-op general coordinators Ann Herpel and Matt Hoagland urged members to maintain a respectful, cooperative tone when speaking, acknowledging the \u201chighly contested and intense interest\u201d the BDS vote has sparked among members.<\/p>\n

\u201cMembers may hold deeply different views on these issues but personal attacks, inflammatory language, or any comments directed at anyone\u2019s identity such as religion, ethnicity, or national origin are unacceptable,\u201d the email read. \u201cRecording the meeting is prohibited.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Regardless of the outcome, some members feel the controversial spectacle divided members when it should have been an opportunity to unite them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere we are getting all this publicity, and we could be using it to amplify the voices working for co-existence and a shared future,\u201d said member Barbara Mazor.<\/p>\n

Read more NYC Dem socialist Councilwoman Shahana Hanif condemns Muslim organizers to hell in vile post slamming pro-Israel protest<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBut instead we are just rehashing the same stuff that doesn\u2019t help anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than half of the co-op’s 15,000 members signed up to attend the meeting \u2014 which had to be shifted to Zoom only after Jewish attendees cited \u201cexplicit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nPark Slope Food Coop passes controversial Israel boycott in divisive, chaotic meet attended by over 7K members - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=545\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Park Slope Food Coop passes controversial Israel boycott in divisive, chaotic meet attended by over 7K members - 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