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
