More than 1,000 comments received on issue co-op concluded was political, beyond scope of its policyBy Allison Arthur and Jaya Spier for the Leader
Kasiana Friedman, 23, tearfully urges the Food Co-op board not to adopt a resolution boycotting Israeli products. She said she has been a member of the co-op since she was 13 years old. She spoke how hard it has been to grow up in Jefferson County as a young Jewish person. Photo by Rachel Lee Canavor
Port Townsend’s Food Co-op decided 4-2 to stay out of the Israeli-Palestine conflict and not boycott Israeli products.
Had the board chosen Sept. 21 – on a day noted as the International Day of Peace – to boycott Israeli-made products like World Peace Olive Oil, it would have been the second co-op in the nation to do so. The Olympia co-op voted in July for a boycott.
More than 50 co-op members – many who identified themselves as Jewish – turned out to say their piece at the Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Port Townsend. People came not only from throughout Jefferson County but from Seattle and Olympia as well. One man said he came from Seattle and joined the co-op that day so he could voice his thoughts.
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