A Brooklyn grocery store has voted to boycott Israeli products, in a decision that has turned one of New York 's best-known food cooperatives into a new flashpoint in the debate over Palestine solidarity and Israel's war on Gaza .
At a three-hour virtual meeting on Tuesday, nearly 7,000 members of the Park Slope Food Coop took part in the vote – with 67 percent backing the measure, 31 percent opposing it and 2 percent abstaining.
Members first approved a separate rule change lowering the threshold for boycott measures from a 75 percent supermajority to a simple majority – clearing the way for the proposal to pass.
The decision commits the grocery cooperative to stop stocking goods produced in Israel, as well as Israeli goods made in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, until Israel complies with international law in its treatment of Palestinians.
The boycott affects fewer than a dozen items, including some varieties of tahini, olive oil, produce and Israeli snacks – but its political significance has been far greater than its commercial impact.
Following the vote, the products were immediatley removed from the shelves. Supporters presented the vote as a concrete act of solidarity with Palestinians, and linked it to the wider Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement , which calls for economic pressure on Israel over its occupation and treatment of Palestinians.
Backers also argued that the coop has a long history of ethical consumer campaigns and said the measure was consistent with that tradition.
The vote followed years of organising and internal conflict within the coop, with the debate intensifying during Israel's war on Gaza.
The issue has split members sharply, with campaigners on both sides accusing the other of intimidation and bad faith, and coop management reportedly increasing security after threats, hostile messages and suspicious mail.
Opponents, including some Jewish members, rabbis and pro-Israel advocacy groups, condemned the measure as discriminatory and claimed that singling out Israel amounted to antisemitism rather than principled human rights advocacy. Supporters rejected that accusation, saying the campaign targets Israeli state policy , not Jewish identity, noting that some Jewish members also backed the boycott.
The decision has already prompted legal threats. The National Jewish Advocacy Center sent a cease-and-desist letter to the coop, while a separate complaint was filed with New York's Division of Human Rights alleging the boycott violates anti-discrimination law.