It’s Time to Boycott the Co-Op

The initiators of the co-op boycott, the BDS Movement, have the advantage in their letters to the editor. When truth and historical context are not components of a campaign, it is easy to sway uninformed readers.

Palestinians who are Israeli citizens have full citizens’ rights — not only the right to vote, but the right to form political parties, and they are represented in the Israeli Parliament.

And why is Israel the only country in the Middle East that allows its Palestinian citizens to work freely in any occupation they choose? While visiting Israel in 1992, my daughter fell and broke her arm. At a Tel Aviv hospital ER, a Palestinian doctor treated her. This would not happen in, say, Lebanon, where Palestinians may not work as doctors, or own land, and are denied basic human rights.

The Olympia Food Co-op declares that it will end the boycott when “Israel recognizes the fundamental rights” of its “Arab-Palestinian citizens.” That demand is clearly ridiculous. So why doesn’t the co-op take up the banner to defend Palestinians’ rights in Arab countries?

The security fence has resulted in a 97 percent decrease in terrorist acts in Israel. Israel continues to make adjustments to the fence to ease the burden on Palestinians.

As for garbage in the streets, the Palestinians in Gaza/West Bank pay taxes to the Palestinian government for garbage pickup, not to Israel.

The co-op board should educate itself and rescind the boycott. Support the boycott against Olympia Food Co-op until it does.

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