The Far Left Destruction Process Using Jew-hate and Antizionism

I have studied countless situations where the radical left has blown apart very reasonable organizations. Today I start with the Israeli goods boycott at the Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn. I didn’t experience it personally, but I’ve read much about it. I’m also interested because I was born in Brooklyn and still have friends and family there. I personally experienced the other two examples I write about. All three organizations were deeply affected by anti-Zionism and/or Jew-hatred.

My maternal grandmother moved to an apartment on Eastern Parkway in 1956. It was near the Brooklyn Museum and Prospect Park. To my four grandparents, all of whom had fled pogroms in Eastern Europe, Prospect Park was the epitome of grandeur. There was a lake with boating, there were swings and snack bars. All this accessible to anybody – even Jews. On another corner of Prospect Park is Park Slope, a very chichi neighborhood. It’s been that way for 50+ years. And, of course they have a food co-op, established in 1973.

Over the years, the co-op board has brought up boycotting Israeli products – because really – what could be more important to a store’s bottom line? Or to the peace and creativity of a neighborhood icon.

The co-op has over 6,000 members. I don’t know how many voted, but 67% voted to boycott Israeli goods, which means removing and no longer selling any Israeli goods. The threshold for change used to be 75%, but the rules were recently altered to 51% before this vote. To the useful idiots at the Park Slope Food Co-op, if you use any of the following, you’re breaking your own boycott:

Waze, Wix, USB flash drives or Intel processors. Also, don’t take any generic medications produced by Teva or have any tools by Stanley or Black & Decker in your garages. Don’t have any quartz countertops in your kitchens by Caesarstone or use any hair products by Moroccanoil. And many, many more.

This wasn’t the first time the board brought up boycotting Israeli products; the first vote was in 2009 and it occurred numerous times thereafter. There is no boycott of Russian or Chinese goods.

Whether or not the boycott will affect the co-op business is to be determined. I’ve read numerous group emails and I’ve seen Facebook and Instagram posts from Jewish and other members who are disgusted with the co-op. If the boycott does eventually cause losses, it won’t be the first time I’ve seen the far left destroy a perfectly healthy, well rounded organization because of anti-Zionism or antisemitism. I’ve experienced it twice myself – once with a small organization and once with a huge movement.

My first experience was in 1982 in Indianapolis with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). We worked on disarmament issues and we also created the first ever International Women’s Day events in the city. We had about 50 members and probably 30+ active members who came to meetings.

A tiny splinter radical left group, whose name I can’t remember, continually pursued taking an anti-Zionist vote against Israel, and month by month we saw attendance drop until there was only a handful left and we stopped meeting. WILPF is still in existence, but I don’t know if there is an Indy chapter. I moved from Indianapolis in 1984.

The next time, I experienced far left anti-Zionist destruction was the Women’s March movement created in 2016 after the first Trump election. Antisemitism and anti-Zionism quickly became apparent. The women who had fenagled their way into the leadership in Washington DC, Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory, and Carmen Perez, had associations with Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam (NOI). This generated significant controversy because of Farrakhan’s history of antisemitic statements. The problem was well-founded. Here’s a sample of Farrakhan statements: Judaism is a gutter religion, Jews are members of the synagogue of Satan, Jews control Hollywood, Jews control the US government, and many more.

Tamika Mallory maintained a close and public relationship with Farrakhan. She attended his speeches and had posted a picture referring to him as the “GOAT” (Greatest Of All Time). Carmen Perez had documented ties to Farrakhan, including posting photos with him on

social media. Linda Sarsour refused to condemn Farrakhan’s Jew-hate.

While all three leaders repeatedly stated that The Women’s March unequivocally condemned antisemitism, Mallory, Perez, and Sarsour faced intense backlash from Jewish groups and allies for their refusal to personally denounce Farrakhan. The women leaders argued that the reason for their presence at Farrakhan’s events was to engage with Black communities, and it did not mean that they endorsed all of his views.

The controversy also included allegations that Mallory and Perez made antisemitic and anti-Zionist comments at planning meetings, including claiming that Jews controlled the Atlantic slave trade – a statement straight out of Farrakhan’s playbook. The comments led to intense internal disputes. The original founders of the Women’s March called for the leadership trio to step down over antisemitism allegations.

Because of the antisemitism and other issues, among them budget mismanagement and several legal issues, many local chapters disaffiliated from the national group and formed their own independent organizations. Our local coalition in St. Pete held a rally the following year, still as The Women’s March. There were a few thousand in attendance, but it broke up when the rally organizer, who admired Sarsour, etc., invited a Bosnian Muslim friend onto the stage and together they got the crowd chanting “Women’s rights are Palestinian rights.” And that was that. Many of us decamped back to the League of Women Voters of the St. Pete Area (LWVSPA), which had been the original and main organizer for the 2017 St. Pete Women’s March.

In conclusion: when organizing to create a coalition, include as many people and groups as possible. But establish rules and a mission statement as soon as possible. If anyone tries to bully the group into unwanted or unnecessary political policies, politely tell them no and if they persist, politely show them the door. There is too much important work to be done these days. Jew-hatred is at an all-time high, deportations have been crazy, and gasoline and food prices are absurdly high. We can’t allow ourselves to be sidelined.

Stand up. Speak out. Let YOUR voices be heard! And if you can – buy Israeli products – make up for that boycott. Am Yisrael Chai.