Last-minute negotiations between the Jewish Community Relations Council and San Francisco’s Rainbow Grocery Cooperative turned a planned Dec. 22 rally against the grocery store’s boycott of Israeli products into a victory platform instead.
The triumph for pro-Israel demonstrators came weeks after Bay Area Jews discovered the boycott and launched a massive e-mail campaign against the grocery. The Folsom Street co-op, which had posted pro-Palestinian slogans in the store, had all along maintained that a boycott didn’t exist. But after meeting with protest sponsors, employees agreed to begin stocking the removed Israeli products in its packaged- and bulk-goods departments — the two departments that instigated the ban.
Two days before the scheduled protest, Rainbow employees worked out a retraction and apology letter. But Steve Berley, director of the JCRC’s Israel Crisis Center, said the Jewish leaders did not have enough time to cancel the protest. “So we decided to turn it into something to celebrate our victory.”
Protest sponsors Grassroots for Israel, San Francisco attorney Ian Zimmerman (whose e-mail brought the boycott to light) and the JCRC had been fully prepared to stage a large-scale demonstration outside the store. But then the tides turned.
“When the police dropped off the barricade gates at Rainbow, I got a message that the store was ready to talk,” said Berley.
The mood at the rally was mixed. Nearly 300 people on all sides of the Mideast debate pooled outside the store as its official statement was read:
“Rainbow Grocery Cooperative, Inc. does not have a boycott on products from Israel…Products that were removed, such as the Middle Eastern couscous, are already back on the shelf,” the statement said. Apart from the statement, store personnel and management refused to comment for this article.
Joe Hample, who held a sign reading: “Buy Groceries, Not Propaganda” said his message was not only for Rainbow, but for the whole community. “The issue is morally complex on both sides, but it’s not fair to only discriminate against Israel.”
As many Israel supporters pointed out, Rainbow Grocery — which openly promotes ecology, compassion and health — had boycotted only Israeli products, even though dozens of countries have histories of human rights violations.
“They stock Chinese and Egyptian food, both from places with huge cases of human rights violations,” Hample said.
While the conflict was resolved, some bad feelings remain on both sides.
“The U.S. subsidizes 40 percent of Israeli workers!” shouted one Rainbow supporter who had waded into the pro-Israel camp. Tempers flared quickly.
The lift of the boycott was a direct result of the collective outcry from the pro-Israel community, said Grassroots for Israel co-founder Dr. Jeff Halbrecht, an outcry that promised a continuous fight had the outcome been different.
“Let this victory serve as a warning in our community that we will not tolerate any boycott of Israel,” Halbrecht said. “A grave injustice has been resolved today; however, we cannot be complacent. It is our duty to proudly proclaim the truth. Israel is democracy, it is freedom and it is human rights.”
Dissenters in the crowd were just as vocal.
“I’m Jewish and I’m defending the right of the store to boycott anyone it wants to, even Israel,” said San Francisco resident David Walters. “There are a lot of Jews without a Zionist anchor, but there is a lot of pressure for Jews not to criticize Israel. Now I think the floodgates are open.”
During the demonstration, past San Francisco Supervisor Mark Leno, recently elected to the state Assembly, was one of several who expressed satisfaction over the outcome. “The Jewish voice is alive and well and will not be silenced,” he said. “We can never ever let our voices be silenced.”
Signaling the end of the rally, a group of former protesters made a beeline into the store, ready to spend their money again.
“I look around and I am amazed at what a group of dedicated people can do in such a short amount of time,” said Sam Salkin, CEO of the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation. “I’m going shopping to say thank you to Rainbow Grocery for making the right decision.”
As the crowd slowly dispersed, a number of those still supporting the boycott handed returning customers stickers and fliers.
“It’s my impression that this boycott is ongoing,” said Samantha Liapes, a member of Jews for a Free Palestine. “There may not be a boycott at the moment, but that decision is an indefinite one.”
And in a troubling way, rally sponsors say they partly agree. The apology seems genuine to us, but we are of course going to follow up with Rainbow Grocery,” said Doron Levitan, a co-founder of Grassroots for Israel. “Reneging on anything they said would not be a smart move, and I doubt this will be the case. If I’m wrong, rest assured, there would be more people standing outside of their doors.”