Press Release: March 31st, 2026

Brooklyn, NY — On Tuesday, March 31st, over 600 Park Slope Food Coop members gathered for their monthly General Meeting to discuss the proposed boycott of Israeli products—a long-overdue conversation reflecting the Coop’s mission of social justice and ethical food sourcing, as well as a desire to stop funding a state committing genocide and occupation.

In a 20-minute presentation, members laid out the clear reasons for boycotting Israeli goods and openly supporting Palestinian human rights. The proposal seeks to keep Israeli products off the Coop’s shelves until Israel complies with international law. “This [genocide] is one of the worst atrocities of all of our lifetimes, one that has been supported directly by our government and by our U.S. tax dollars. We must do something," presenters said.

The boycott proposal was presented by PSFC Members for Palestine, an organizing collective of Coop members who have called for boycotting Israel with renewed urgency following the ongoing war in Gaza and its numerous documented cases of genocide. Over 3,500 Coop members have signed a petition in support of the call for a boycott. The proposal was submitted in October 2023, but only came up for discussion after repeat delays including a smear campaign and repeated sabotage by far right groups like Israel War Room and End Jewish Hate. Finally, members had a chance to talk about it. “Today we engaged each other in meaningful dialogue about participating in a boycott for justice in Palestine at our coop," Board member Keiyan Vafai said. "It's a continuation of an over-50 year tradition of such boycotts, including those against Pinochet’s Chile and apartheid South Africa.”

Numerous members voiced their support for the boycott proposal in a discussion after the presentation, reflecting growing American solidarity with Palestinians and the growth of boycotts of Israeli goods throughout the cooperative movement and around the world. A final vote on whether to boycott Israeli goods is expected to take place spring/summer 2026.

Member Dan Kaminsky said, “I’m looking forward to working with other coop members to come together to hold this vote and pave the way for fellow democratic organizations to join us in this peaceful protest of genocide and the breaking of international law.”

On April 21, the group will host an online panel presentation addressing the PSFC’s role in the worldwide BDS movement featuring Brooklyn College professor Moustafa Bayoumi, Greene Hill Food Coop member August Bridgeford, and independent journalist Jasper Nathaniel.

For more about Park Slope Food Coop Members for Palestine, visit psfc4palestine.org, or follow them on Instagram at @psfc4palestine.