Applauding positive developments
Dear Coop members:
Granted, General Meetings aren’t always fun and are sometimes even contentious. But we—the Coop Family—should be proud of some of our recent accomplishments and current considerations. Starting in January, our new hybrid structure will open up participation to many more of our members. (Note: I would have gladly been more active over my last 18 years if I—as a single parent and very busy nonprofit manager—could have participated remotely.) And some new initiatives are exploring robust, creative ideas for enhancing education and awareness regarding committees and operating procedures; offering training, leadership development and greater inclusivity; and clarifying protocols for ensuring appropriate democratic communications. Way to go, Coop!
These types of developments help me feel even more welcome and inspired. Let’s keep up the momentum and commitment to innovation, inclusivity and equity in our dynamic democratic experiment.
Sincerely,
Mitty Owens
Coop member since 2006; social justice writer on Substack
AtTila the Hun and Karl Marx both like good food at fair prices
Dear Coop members:
The Park Slope Food Coop is a grocery store. It is a good place for me to shop. The grocery-store aspect of the Coop is great; the political activism is not. I recall that at a GM in 2016, an “Education Committee” member urged us to go to Philadelphia and protest the Trans-Pacific Partnership at the Democratic Convention. Nearly a decade later, members argue over banning products. I stopped attending GMs. Now a member writes a letter about wishing for the ideological purity of a bread supplier.
On December 10, Lidl grocery store opened at 120 5th Ave., close to the Coop. Their prices are lower compared with the Coop prices for similar items. The produce is not as good as that of the Coop, but the bakery is better; they have freshly baked croissants that are crisp for 49 cents. They also offer a large selection of meat and fish at slightly lower prices. I have not yet tried the meats to know about the quality.
The Coop prides itself on being founded in 1972. I grew up where there are coop entities that are thriving to this day that were founded in 1908 and the other in 1915. Both stick to their knitting. The first one is a coop bank that started very small and over the last hundred years has expanded to many branches in many cities in India. No members or account holders entertain political activism at the bank. My question is how long before members of the PSFC are turned off by political activism and walk with their feet. If I have problems with any products, I have the option to NOT buy that product.
Sincerely,
Amol Kaikini
CHANUKA AND ANTIZIONISM
Dear members,
I recently saw a flyer advertising an Antizionist Chanuka party and thought this was hilarious seeing as Chanuka is the most Zionist Jewish holiday there is. On Chanuka, we celebrate indigenous Jewish resistance over Greek colonizers and the restoration of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.
Unfortunately, there are quite a number of such self-proclaimed “antizionist” Jews right here at our coop who are working to ban the sale of Israeli goods (BDS).
As progressive as these folks might envision themselves to be, they are nothing but our generation’s version of the Hellenistic Jews, who mistakenly thought that if only they were more empathetic towards their overlords, or better assimilated, they could “keep the peace.” Tragically, they fell to the same fate as their “less liberal” brethren.
Because while the Hellenists were technically only against religious zealotry, not Jewish people per se, and antizionism opposes only Jewish statehood, ultimately, the soul of the Jew is inseparable from his or her body, and Jewish identity is intrinsically tied to the land of Israel, the center of which was known historically as “Judea,” as it was the ancestral homeland of the tribe of Judah, the source of the word for “Jew.”
To be clear, this does not mean one must endorse everything the Israeli government does or that it is in any way above critique, but to call oneself an Antizionist while at the same time celebrating Chanuka, is oxymoronic.
Pro-Israel Jews and friends, as evidenced by the public Menorah lighting outside of the Coop this year, the antizionists are only making us stronger. Stay proud and stay loud.
Sarede Switzer