Olympia Food Co-op fights lawsuit over boycott of Israeli goods

The legal team representing the Olympia Food Co-op is asking a judge in Olympia, Washington to throw out a lawsuit against the co-op because, according to Maria LaHood, a Senior Staff Attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, the suit is "an effort to silence the Co-op’s principled stand on Israel’s human rights violations."  The Co-op's motion calls the suit a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) suit, which are illegal in 26 states including Washington.  

According to the Center for Constitutional Rights, SLAPP suits are "civil complaints or counterclaims that target the constitutional rights of free speech and petition in connection with an issue of public concern".  These suits stop people from engaging in free speech for fear of costly legal ramifications. While SLAPP suits may eventually be found to be meritless, they can effectively achieve their principal purpose: to chill public debate on specific issues.   

Bruce E.H. Johnson of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, who drafted Washington State’s Anti-SLAPP law sees the lawsuit against the Olympia Food Co-op as an vivid example of SLAPP: “This lawsuit, which seeks to penalize local citizens for exercising their rights as Board members to express views on Israel and the problems in the Middle East, presents a fundamental First Amendment issue.  Our nation was born in the middle of a boycott of British goods, and boycotts have played an important role over the centuries in our system of freedom of expression, whether the subject is segregation on the Montgomery municipal bus system, lettuce picked by non-union labor, or apartheid in South Africa.”

An ultimatum from the plaintiffs sent to the Co-op before the lawsuit was filed reads: “If you do what we demand, this situation may be resolved amicably. If not, this process will become considerably more complicated, burdensome, and expensive than it has been already.”  

The Olympia Food Co-op, founded in 1976, has a rich history of taking stands for social justice. It has honored boycotts of apartheid South Africa, Coca-Cola, and grape growers in support of the United Farm Workers, among others.  In 2010, the board of directors reached consensus to deshelve Israeli products in response to the 2005 call for boycott by more than 170 organizations representing Palestinian civil society.  The store became the first food co-op in the United States to institute a boycott of Israel over the ongoing occupation of Palestine. 

OlympiaBDS, a coalition of Olympia community members, released a statement pointing out the plaintiffs' ties to anti-Palestininan groups:

The lawsuit is part of a fierce response to the growing global movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel until it ends its occupation of Palestine, respects the right of return of Palestinian refugees, and gives equal rights to Palestinians living inside of Israel. This backlash is coming from pro-Israel groups as well as directly from the Israeli Government, which recently passed a law that criminalizes advocating for boycotts of Israel.

In meeting minutes, the lawsuit is referred to as a “project” of the Executive Committee of StandWithUs Northwest, an international pro-Israel and anti-boycott lobby group. In Israel, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon confirmed the Israeli government’s involvement in anti-boycott efforts outside of Israel:

“It is very important to make use of all the means at our disposal, primarily judicial means…We are certainly moving here to a policy that is much more pro-active and not only reactive, and it is true – we are using…StandWithUs for leverage. There are also other organizations that we cooperate with…[and] this is certainly a trend that will get stronger.”

OlympiaBDS also notes that Akiva Tor, the Israeli Consul General for the Pacific Northwest, met with the attorneys for the plaintiffs in March,  and that several of the plaintiffs appear in a StandWithUs produced propaganda video called "Why BDS Scars Don't Heal".  

The case is Davis, et al., v. Cox, et al., Case No. 11-2-01925-7 in the Superior Court of the State of Washington in Thurston County. For more information visit the Center for Constitutional Rights case page and OlympiaBDS.org.

Noah Sochet served as a working-member at the Olympia Food Co-op for five years and organized with OlympiaBDS.