Olympia Food Co-op Forum

I would like to know when the coop is planning on announcing this decision to the coop members.

I'm a longtime Jewish working member and I'm so proud of the coop's decision to finally begin to boycott Israeli products.  I'm surprised that handscrape thinks that this decision will so effect members.  There were only two Israeli products that have been removed, and this tiny change in the day-to-day at the coop has the potential to have serious, lasting effects on the brutality that Palestinians face living under occupation.  Thank you, Co-op board, you've fulfilled your duty to uphold the mission statement.

The Israelis killed a resident of Washington named Rachel Corried in 2003 while she was conducting a peaceful non violent resistance to one of the 25,000 Palestinian houses the Israelis have torn down during their brutal half century occupation of Palestine.

Even if Rachel, a great american hero, was not from Washington, the Coop's heroic act is to be greatly applauded.

None of the cases of other countries user "Israel" has sited are relevant for many reasons.

Those countries are not killing Americans like Rachel. Israel has killed many Americans. In 1967 Israel killed and wounded 200 American sailors on the USS Liberty.

Many thousands of Americans have because of US support for Israel.  Khaled Sheikh Mohammed and Mohammed Atta targetted the world trade center because they were angry at US support for the brutal occupation of Palestine.

None of those other countries get the practically unlimited financial and diplomatic support that the US gives Israel.

The rockets fired into Israel have killed a small fraction of the people of Palestine that Israel has killed during its illegal occupation. Under international law, it is not permissable to transfer your population into an occuppied territory. Israel has completely ignored this and has half a million colonists in Palestine.  Palestinians are naturally going to resist this ethnic cleansing with more than just strong language. The rockets are a predicable form of resistance to ethnic cleansing.

'Israel' use of the terms 'Gaza' and 'Hamas' are a typical attempt to  delegitimaze Palestine, and pretend that there is no connection between the illegal occupation of one part of Palestine (the West Bank), and the resistance mounted against this occupation from another part of Palestine.

As a final demonstraion of user 'israel's  lack of logic and inability to grasp basic facts, he is completely wrong in saying 'A boycott by a tiny grocery chain will almost certainly have no effect on Israeli policy makers.'

Food co-op in Rachel Corrie's hometown boycotts Israeli goods' is front page news in israel's newspapers like haaretz.com. You can see  the hundreds of angry comments by israelis about the boycott, and I'm sure the coop with be busy dealing with the response from the other side of the world. It is big news in Israel, bound to be noticed by policy makers there, because the israel's  ethnic cleansing of palestine will not continue to happen without unlimited American support.

'I am for compulsory transfer; I do not see anything immoral in it.'
David Ben-Gurion to the JewishAgencyExecutive, June 19381

Everything that the Palestinians have done is the logical and predictable response of resisance to Israel's long thought out plans for ethnically cleansing.  The Zionist plan was concocted in the 9th century and was begun to put in place long before a group mostly made up of Europeans created the state of israel.

I was also really appalled about the decision to boycott Israeli products.   Why was Israeli singled out?  Will you next consider boycotting Chinese products, because of their occupation of Tibet and their genocide of the Tibetan people?  Will you boycott products made in the US because of the wars and civilians deaths in Afghanistan and iraq?
There is no nation without flaws, but when you look at the balance sheet, Israel stacks up quite well.  Its a one person one vote democacy, with full civil and human rights for all its citizens.  Contrast that with Jordan, for example- where a Jew can never become a citizen, or Saudi Arabia- where a Jew isn't even allowed to visit.
But I don't think a grocery store forum or a grocery store is the place to make foreign policy statements.  You don't like a product?  Don't buy it.  But don't tell me what I can and can't buy.  This is a divisive and unnecessary step for our Co-op.

There is no ethnic cleansing in Israel, btw, Dreenagh.    The population of Palestinians has increased fourfold since 1948.
Israel has supplied food, water, medicine, paid health care, sewer services, electricity, schools, health clinics, hospitals, Universities, and a sports stadium to the Palestinians.
Israel built 166 medical clinics for the Palestinians and provided universal health insurance for the Palestinians until 1994 when civil authority was transferred to the PA. (source: <http://www.hrw.org/wr2k>)

The birth rate in Gaza  (ranked 26 in the world)
39.45 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
<http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gz.html>

The birth rate in the West Bank (ranked 51 in the world)
31.67 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
<http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/we.html>

Life expectancy at Birth in Gaza: (ranked 117)
total population: 71.97 years

Life expectancy at Birth in the West Bank: (ranked 98)
total population: 73.27 years
(for reference- the US is ranked 48)

The infant mortality rate among the Palestinians was 8.3 per 1,000 live births in 2004. (source: <http://www.palestinemonitor.org>)

The infant mortality rate in 1967, when Israel took over the West Bank and Gaza was 170 per 1,000 live births. (source: <http://www.middleeastfacts.com>)

The infant mortality rate has drastically dropped!!

As a local Olympian I urge the co-op to STOP using Intel based PC's and Microsoft Windows.  Intel CPU's are designed and manufactured in Israel and major parts of Windows are developed over there as well, including some security elements.  Throw these Zionist spy machines away and use AMD CPU's (made by an Arab owned company !) and also Linux, whose creator Linus Torvalds strongly opposes the occupation.  Also don't use any ZIP tools based on the Lempel-Ziv algorithm developed at the Technion, yet another Zionist organ.

Using Intel / Microsoft goods is feeding the forces supporting the occupation !  Say NO to both !  Sell TODAY the shares of these corporations !  This will be more effective than boycotting some minor products !

There is much misinformation being represented as fact in this thread. So much so that I will not attempt to respond to it all. I will, however, ask you to consider this:

Many of the have complained about the co-op "singling out" Israel. Some have even specifically asked if the Co-op would boycott China, based on their occupation and human rights abuses in Tibet.

If you cared to do your research, you would find that the Co-op HAS AN EXISTING BOYCOTT ON CHINESE GOODS. The boycott was implemented in the same manner as the Israeli boycott, and was in direct response to China's policy regarding Tibet. Where were all of you to defend China against being singled out by the Co-op?

The actions of any other government do not diminish the record of human rights abuses committed by the state of Israel. Just because there are other crimes that have been committed throughout the world, which some may feel are "worse", does not mean that Israel should not be held accountable for the things that they are responsible for. To constantly make comparison, and to purport that this comparison warrants some sort of leniency for Israel, has no logic. The dedicated liars and apologists for Israel will continue to use this kind of tactic, as it is clear that Israel's human rights record is otherwise indefensible.

I applaud the Olympia Co-op for their decision in this matter. Hopefully this is the first drop in a bucket. A bucket that will fill quickly, with the efforts of the international community, to impose broad boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel, until Israel has no choice but to abide by international law, and to secure the human rights of all citizens of the region.

Last edited by AndrewJames (2010-07-20 10:07:26)

I guess I'll just quote my previous post, as you either failed to read it or decided to disregard:

"The actions of any other government do not diminish the record of human rights abuses committed by the state of Israel. Just because there are other crimes that have been committed throughout the world, which some may feel are "worse", does not mean that Israel should not be held accountable for the things that they are responsible for. To constantly make comparison, and to purport that this comparison warrants some sort of leniency for Israel, has no logic. The dedicated liars and apologists for Israel will continue to use this kind of tactic, as it is clear that Israel's human rights record is otherwise indefensible. "

I fully support the Coop's brave decision to boycott Israeli-made products, no matter how small the impact. This move not only honors the memory of Rachel Corrie, who died defending the homes of innocent Palestinians from routine Israeli home demolition, but it also shows that the board and members care about issues of peace and justice at home as well as abroad. Israeli Apartheid should be boycotted just like South African Apartheid. Thank you Oly Coop - I will shop there as much as possible.

I am currently using Facebook and various other means to have the companies suppying the co-op refuse to sell to Olympia.  I also feel that those of you withing the surrounding community should contact and advise the local businesses that you are upset with their relationship with the co-op due to its boycott of Israel ( a democratic, free country that does not abuse their citizens) and should they continue this relationship, you will find other similar products on-line and/or elsewhere.  I realize that those of us who are not from your area cannot directly affect you, but we can affect any national suppliers that you have.  What you have done will not hurt Israel in an economic sense, but you have intentionally hurt a country that doesn't bomb innocent people and has suffered terrorist attacks by radical Islamists for its entire existence.  To those of you who actually believe in the hardships of the "Palestinians" I would suggest you read the history of their start, because there was no such thing as a Palestinian until there was an Israel.

You fail to answer direct questions, and then try to deny the existence of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Since your credibility has disappeared, I see no sense in continuing.

And to Andrew, I will answer your question.  Every country should be held accountable for its actions.  I will not say to you why are you not boycotting so & so because of so & so.  I will say to you that your information on the "plight" of the Gazan and West Bank arabs are directly because of the abuse of their leaders who chose rocket fire, blowing up buses, and other acts of terrorism-plus the millions stolen by their prior leader, Arafat, rather than become contributing members of the world-and yes, under Israel after Israel won it in the war.  It was Israel that built hospitals, schools, and provided jobs while under Arab rule they lived in camps.  And it was/is their leaders that feed them the line of death and hatred rather than help them.