Park Slope Food Coop is under fire for anti-Semitic hate speech ahead of vote to boycott Israel
A national Jewish human rights group is demanding that the Park Slope Food Coop Board protect Jewish members from “intimidation, retaliation, targeting, and coercion” ahead of a vote on a proposed boycott of Israeli products.
The appeal, in a Wednesday letter from the Brandeis Center, comes after weeks of protests at the socialist-leaning Brooklyn market, including at a regular meeting where an attendee declared that “the size of the Jews is the problem in this country,” to the applause of dozens of other members.
“Jewish people should not have to choose between local food and organic food and their safety and their voice,” said Brandeis Center Chairman and CEO Kenneth Marcus.
The Louis Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law said the boycott proposal, which is to be voted on on May 26, should not proceed.
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But if it does, the existing organization has a legal obligation to ensure that Jewish members can participate without intimidation, the Brandeis Center said.
This goal could be achieved by creating anonymous voting to prevent votes from being seen in public and by not requiring members to show up in person to vote, “given the alarming rise in anti-Semitism at the coop and throughout New York City,” the civil rights group said.
“A secret referendum process will not only protect vulnerable members, but it will also encourage broader participation, reduce coercion, ensure that members vote freely, and better reflect the views of your membership as a whole,” said Brandeis Center senior advisor Omer Wiczyk.
“We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that all members are able to participate without intimidation or discrimination.”
The coop proposal would also eliminate the 75% vote needed to approve boycott measures, the report said.
One member of the coop said he was surprised by the rise in anti-Semitic hostility.
“When I joined the Park Slope Food Coop 15 years ago, anti-Semitism within its walls was the last thing on my mind. Yet here we are in 2026; many of our fellow members, frustrated by the war in Gaza, have joined an organization where anti-Semitic rhetoric has become the norm,” said Coop member Ramon Maislen.
The Park Slope Food Coop has confirmed that it plans to move forward with a vote on the proposal to boycott Israeli products. This will be preceded by a separate vote on the proposed legislation on whether to proceed with a simple majority.
“For now, the meeting will be held in a mixed format (in person and virtual). Members interested in attending have the opportunity to participate virtually,” said Coop General Coordinator Ann Herpel.
“More than 3,500 members have registered to attend approximately. The votes that will be cast in the virtual meeting will be electronic, protecting the privacy of any member’s vote. The number of members who cannot attend in person is determined by the amount of space. Most of the members will attend virtually and vote electronically,” he said.
The Coop will decide soon whether the meeting should be conducted 100 percent remotely, Herpel added.
The coop, founded in 1973, requires its nearly 16,000 members to work 2.75-hour shifts every six weeks, for the right to buy deeply discounted groceries, in addition to voting on store policies.
