June 16, 2026, PITTSBURGH, PA — StandWithUs commends the decision by the East End Food Co-op Board of Directors to reject pressure to adopt a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) policy targeting Israel. The decision is a crucial step in preserving the Co-op’s core values of cooperation, inclusion, and safety, successfully stopping a relentless two-year campaign designed to turn a community grocery store into a polarized political battleground.
“The board did the right thing in firmly rejecting a pressure campaign that has deeply fractured our community for two years,” said Julie Paris, Mid-Atlantic Regional Director of StandWithUs. “Food co-ops are meant to be spaces of cooperation, diversity, and teamwork, open to everyone who walks through the door. We are grateful that this community-owned grocery store will not be co-opted by an extremist political agenda that fuels hatred and conflict, rather than building understanding and peace.”
The push to ban Israeli-sourced products from the Co-op was initiated and led by the co-op’s staff union, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) Local 667. In July 2024, the union voted to endorse the global BDS campaign. BDS seeks to shut down Israeli-Palestinian cooperation and ultimately eliminate Israel. Its worldwide campaigns are coordinated by the BDS National Committee (BNC), which has clear ties to Hamas and other U.S.-designated terrorist groups.
Since mid-2024, regular monthly board meetings and special forums devolved into deeply uncomfortable and hostile environments for Jewish member-owners and shoppers. Rather than focusing on local cooperative food business, meetings routinely turned into platforms for toxic rhetoric, featuring demonization of Israel and dehumanizing antisemitic rhetoric comparing Zionists to Nazis.
The toxic environment extended from the boardrooms into the grocery store aisles. Jewish customers reported experiencing deep discomfort and intimidation due to store employees visibly wearing anti-Israel buttons and political materials while on the clock and engaging in arguments with customers. Many long-time Jewish members and shoppers stopped patronizing the co-op over the last two years as a result.
“BDS claims to promote human rights, but only serves to isolate, stigmatize, and target Jews, Israelis, and our allies,” Paris continued. ”Ironically, the boycott targeted a mere handful of products, including an olive oil produced by a joint peace initiative of Israeli and Palestinian women. The goal was never about justice or peace; it was about bringing a global hate movement into a local neighborhood space.”
By rejecting BDS, the East End Food Co-op Board has fulfilled its fiduciary and ethical responsibilities to its broader membership of over 17,000 people. The decision reinforces the principle that a cooperative business must maintain an inclusive environment where all community members feel valued and safe.
“The board’s decision ensures that the co-op can begin the long process of healing and return to being a welcoming space for all, regardless of background,” said Paris. “We encourage all members of the East End Food Co-op community to move forward together, rejecting campaigns of exclusion, and instead focusing on our shared values of mutual respect and community support.”
