(
\n May 21, 2026
\n \/ JNS
\n )<\/p>\n
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is urging a Brooklyn food cooperative to cancel a vote on a proposed boycott of Israeli products or conduct it through a confidential referendum process, citing what it described as an atmosphere of intimidation and antisemitic hostility targeting Jewish members.<\/p>\n
The Brandeis Center sent the letter to the board of the Park Slope Food Coop ahead of a scheduled May 26 vote on a proposal to ban Israeli products tied to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. The coop, founded in 1973, has about 16,000 members and has debated Israel-related boycott measures for more than a decade.<\/p>\n
The organization demanded protection for Jewish members and urged the coop to cancel the vote, calling it \u201cinappropriate\u201d in light of escalating tensions surrounding the debate. It said discussions over the boycott proposal\u2014and a related effort to lower the coop\u2019s current 75% supermajority requirement for boycott measures\u2014\u201chave been rife with antisemitic tropes and rhetoric with escalating hostility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tensions intensified after remarks at an April coop meeting, which drew applause from some attendees, that \u201cJewish supremacism is a problem in this country.\u201d The comments sparked outrage among some Jewish members.<\/p>\n
In late 2024, Jewish coop members filed a discrimination complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights, alleging antisemitic and anti-Israel harassment by some coop members, with reports of shoppers being accosted and accused of bearing responsibility for the Israel-Hamas war.<\/p>\n
If the vote proceeds, the Brandeis Center says \u201cfundamental fairness requires that the voting process protect Jewish members from intimidation, retaliation, social targeting or coercive pressure based on their national origin, religion, ethnicity or identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization urged the coop not to require members to attend the May 26 meeting in person to vote and instead to conduct the process \u201cexclusively through a confidential referendum process, including anonymous electronic or similarly private balloting procedures that prevent members\u2019 votes from being publicly identifiable.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a message to members following an April 28 meeting, the coop\u2019s general manager acknowledged that recent meetings had become \u201ctense, combative or unproductive,\u201d adding that some members\u2014including those \u201cwhose identities feel threatened\u201d\u2014had stopped participating. The message specifically referenced Jewish members who said they felt \u201churt,\u201d \u201ctargeted\u201d and \u201cunwelcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramon Maislen, a coop member, said that when he joined 15 years ago, \u201cantisemitism within its walls was the last thing on my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYet here we are in 2026,\u201d he said. \u201cMany of our fellow members, distraught at the war in Gaza, have aligned themselves with a movement where anti-Jewish rhetoric has become routine.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brandeis Center stated that \u201cwhen an institution acknowledges its Jewish members no longer feel safe participating openly, it bears a responsibility to implement meaningful protections rather than simply proceed and hope for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman and CEO of the Brandeis Center, said Jewish members \u201cshould not have to choose between local and organic food and their safety and their voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Park Slope Food Coop has an obligation to protect its Jewish members, not just during this vote, but as a matter of basic institutional responsibility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"( May 21, 2026 \/ JNS ) The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-239413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}