Dear Port Townsend Food Co-Op Board:
I want to start by saying that I am sorry that the Port Townsend Food Co-Op Board has been placed in the uncomfortable position it finds itself in today – that of a lightening rod for intense political conflict related to the Israeli/Palestinian situation. I hope that you decide soon to remove yourselves and the Food Co-Op from this position by immediately opposing the suggested Co-Op boycott of Jewish goods and businesses.
I assume that the bylaws you have posted on your website are current and therefore wish to remind you of one of your primary policies that seems pertinent to this Jewish boycott proposal - that is your duty to protect the Co-Op store from political manipulation:
POLICY B8: EXECUTIVE LIMITATIONS
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND VALUE
B8.8 Ensure that the store not be utilized for political purposes; therefore, s/he shall not fail to:
B8.8.1 Ensure that signs, banners, newsletters and other materials endorsing or urging opposition to any (a) candidate(s) for public office, (b) referenda, propositions, resolutions or any other items on a public ballot, or (c) community matters not directly related to organic, natural and healthy foods, are not created by the Co-op nor displayed within the Co-op premises except that, with respect to item (c), petition gathering may be permitted at the store entrances so long as ingress and egress are not impeded.
This policy will be monitored by internal report and reviewed annually in July.
Political Manipulation. When I first heard about the proposed boycott of Jewish businesses and goods I learned that it focused exclusively on Israeli goods because of the boycott proponent’s belief that Israel is acting unfairly towards Palestinians. I wish to remind the board that this belief that Israel is somehow unfair to Palestinians has absolutely nothing to do with providing safe, healthy food products for Port Townsend. This boycott proposal is purely politically motivated and therefore 'utilizing the store for political purposes,' which is against Policy B8 shown above.
I now hear that the boycott proponent has taken another approach and is trying to get all Israeli products reviewed in detail for their production processes, workplace conditions, toxic potential, organic ingredients, etc. This targeting of Jewish goods for extreme scrutiny is grossly manipulative and only designed to create political havoc. Now I hear that he has proposed that signs be placed in front of the targeted Jewish goods so that the customers can decide whether they want to purchase them or not. If these placards are put in place they will be a visible sign to all the Anti-Semites in our community that their negative beliefs about Jews are sanctioned by the Co-Op. I believe that this violates again the policies shown above that the store not be used for “community matters not directly related to organic, natural and healthy foods.” This maneuvering and manipulation is nothing short of an attempted political coup of the Co-Op.
Loyalty of Board Members to the Co-Op. With respect to the policies below I want to remind the board of their paramount duty to protect the Food Co-Op from individuals and/or organizations, whose personal interests are at odds with the best interests of the Co-Op. I hope that you can foresee that the proposal to boycott Jewish goods and businesses is not in the best interests of our local Co-Op and in fact it will only serve to create divisions among our community, hurt the financial well-being of the store and possibly brand the entire town as anti-Jewish.
D1.3.3 If less than a majority of members present are in favor of a proposition, whether or not anyone has blocked, then the proposition shall not have passed, and the members present shall determine by majority whether to table the item or continue discussion at the next meeting. Any proposition that is tabled may not be re-introduced for six months.
D5.1.1 Board members must represent unconflicted loyalty to the interests of the ownership. This accountability supercedes any conflicting loyalty such as that to advocacy or interest groups and membership on other Boards or staffs. This accountability supercedes the personal interest of any Board member acting as an individual consumer of the organization's services.
D7.2 The Board shall always act in the best interest of the Co-op as a whole.
D7.2.1 To make informed policy decisions, the Board must understand the values and needs of the members. Therefore the Board must obtain adequate and appropriate information on the members.
D7.3.2 The Board will build and sustain a sense of membership, pride and loyalty among members.
Product Reviews. I have read your policies related to food products and how reviews can be conducted about whether any of them should be discontinued or supplemented, etc.. These policies revolve around quality issues and healthy food assessments – ensuring a safe food supply free of toxins, produced under fair labor practices, etc. The boycott proponent’s now desperate and transparent request that somehow all these Israeli products deserve intense scrutiny for their health aspects is preposterous. This is a desperate attempt on the part of the boycott proponent to bypass your policies that prohibit using the store for political purposes. If these politically targeted product reviews are allowed to continue, they will open the door to any frivolous contention about any product for any reason. This essentially will make a mockery of your seriously written product review policies that appear to be sincerely designed to provide the best “organic, natural and healthy foods” to Port Townsend and Jefferson County residents.
Anti-Semitism. Here are a few of the events that my family has experienced since moving to Jefferson County:
- My Jewish daughter attended school in Quilcene until she had to leave the school in that town because the other youth would not associate with her unless she attended their youth group at a local church. She attended for a while for fun and for cultural exploration, but when she ceased attending they informed her that their relationship was contingent on her attending church. Outside of that they would not socialize with her.
- My daughter transferred to a high school in Port Townsend and while riding the bus to school one day a group of youth started calling her “Jew-girl” over and over again in a nasty tone of voice and despite the fact that the transit bus was full of adults, not one spoke up to defend or help her.
- A Jewish teacher at Quilcene High School had “Jew lady” scrawled on the door of her classroom and the administration dismissed it as a juvenile prank.
- A swastika was carved into a table in the library at the Quilcene School and I found out that it had been there for years and no one had done anything about removing it. I had to make a fuss to get the custodian to grind out the spot on the desk with a sander.
Well, Jews will not sit back and take this crap any more – not from the Food Co-Op or anybody else. If you approve this boycott of Jewish goods and businesses you are going to unleash a response the likes of which you have never seen in Port Townsend.
Pamela Roberts
Port Townsend Food Co-Op Member and resident of Jefferson County, Washington