Phan Nguyen, a member of the Olympia Food Co-op, defends of the co-op’s Israeli boycott in the Tacoma, WA News Tribune:
When we talk about the Israel/Palestine conflict, we cannot talk about it in the third person. It is our conflict, as it is our taxpayer dollars that supply Israel’s weapons of war and our diplomatic cover that allows war crimes and human rights abuses to thrive.
When our own government fails to end the violence – or worse, encourages violence and conflict – then it is time for the common people to step in.
It is with that concern that the Olympia Food Co-op board of directors added Israeli products to its list of boycotts. The call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) on Israel originated from Palestinian civil society organizations and has been endorsed by Jewish Israeli peace activists and by organizations around the world.
The goal is for Israel to end its illegal military occupation, abide by international law and respect Palestinian human rights.
A boycott is a tactic for change. It is not a tool for rejection. When people boycotted the Montgomery buses, they were working to end segregation, not to reject buses. When activists boycotted South Africa, they were working to end apartheid, not to push the whites into the ocean.
