A group of pro-Israel activists has filed a cease and desist motion in response to a prominent Brooklyn grocery store’s decision to boycott Israeli products, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency has learned.
The letter was sent to the manager and board of directors of the Park Slope Food Co-op, alleging that the boycott approved in a vote on Tuesday night is illegal.
The cease-and-desist letter was submitted by the National Jewish Advocacy Center, a legal and civil rights group, on behalf of Jewish member-owners of the co-op.
It alleges that the boycott came about “through a campaign of harassment, intimidation, deception, and slurs,” and that the board of the coop itself “used its authority to target, exclude, or economically disadvantage Jews and Israelis while exposing the cooperative to risk.”
The letter further alleges that the boycott violates the basic principles of the coop’s autonomy by permitting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement to gain a foothold through the PSFC Members for Palestine group.
Legal challenge follows Brooklyn co-op boycott
The Park Slope Food Co-op did not return JTA’s request for comment.
Thursday’s cease-and-desist is not the first legal action taken in the two days since the boycott passed.
CUNY law professor Jeffrey Lax announced in a post on X on Wednesday that he had filed a New York State Division of Human Rights complaint on behalf of his advocacy group, S.A.F.E Campus. It alleges that the boycott violates a state law preventing the boycott or blacklist of products based on protected classes, including national origin. (The law does not apply to boycotts related to labor disputes or unlawful discriminatory practices.)
This is a developing story