Press Release: NJAC Sues Park Slope Food Coop to Overturn Israel Boycott
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2026
CONTACT:
National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC)
Phone: (332) 278-1100
Email: press@njaclaw.org
NJAC SUES PARK SLOPE FOOD COOP TO OVERTURN ISRAEL BOYCOTT
Lawsuit on Behalf of Five Jewish Members Says Coop Leaders Broke Their Own Bylaws and New York Anti-Discrimination Law
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — On September 28, 2026, the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) filed suit in New York State Supreme Court, Kings County, on behalf of five Jewish members of the Park Slope Food Coop, Inc., asking the court to strike down the Coop’s boycott of Israeli-made goods. The complaint alleges that Coop leaders broke their own rules and New York State and City anti-discrimination law in adopting a Boycott that singles out Israelis and is part of a hostile environment that excludes Jewish and Israeli members from equal participation in a cooperative of more than 16,000 members. Among other grounds for the suit, the Complaint alleges that the Boycott – which targets goods made by Israelis – violates the Anti-Boycott Law in New York State Executive Law Section 296(13), which prohibits boycotts based on protected identities, including race, religion, ethnicity, national origin.
According to the complaint, the Boycott was the goal of a multi-year campaign by activists promoting the agenda of the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (“BDS”) movement. The internal communications of the activist group laid out its plan to switch to remote voting at Coop and Board meetings (in violation of the Coop’s Bylaws) and scrap the Coop’s 75% supermajority requirement for boycotts. The activists also revealed their anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish bias in their communications. One BDS activist messaged to a Coop group “Long Live Yahyah Al-Sinwar.” Sinwar is the indicted terrorist leader of Hamas who was the mastermind of the horrific atrocities of October 7, 2023 against civilians. Another told the entire Coop meeting that they should support the Boycott to oppose the “problem of Jewish supremacism” in the United States. The suit alleges that Board members allowed the antisemitic hostile environment engendered by the campaign to fester at the Coop, depriving Jews who identify with Israel from equal enjoyment of their rights as Coop Members.
On May 26, 2026, in an entirely remote meeting, members dropped the 75% threshold and approved the boycott. The Board adopted both measures that night, although the Coop’s Bylaws require in-person voting and an amendment of the Bylaws, which never happened, to change that in-person rule. The complaint states that the Board ignored repeated warnings from Coop officers, its own treasurer and other full-time staff.
The suit brings claims for breach of the Coop’s governing documents, breach of fiduciary duty, and for discrimination under New York State and New York City law. It asks the court to declare the boycott and the voting changes invalid, bar the Coop from refusing to stock Israeli products, and award damages.
The plaintiffs — Jeffrey Jon Berney, Barbara Mazor, Deirdre Levy, Sarede Rachel Switzer, and Nora Kogan — are longtime Coop members, several for more than 20 years. They are represented by NJAC Senior Litigation Counsel Alan H. Scheiner, CEO Mark Goldfeder, and Director Ben Schlager.
Mark Goldfeder, Chief Executive Officer of NJAC, said: “Jewish New Yorkers should not have to check their identity at the door to buy groceries. Park Slope Food Coop’s leaders broke their own rules to impose a discriminatory boycott of Israeli goods while tolerating antisemitic harassment and denying Jewish members equal treatment. A commitment to inclusion is meaningless if it comes with an exception for Jews.
Alan Scheiner, a Senior Litigation Counsel at NJAC, said: “Most Jews feel called by the ancient core of their identity to deeply identify with Israelis and the State of Israel, where nearly half of the world’s Jews live. And many Jewish New Yorkers are themselves Israeli-Americans. Anti-Israel activism uses pretextual human rights claims that are only a thin veil over unlawful antisemitic animus that focuses on Israel – to the exclusion of all other nations – because Israel is the world’s only Jewish state. Israelis and Jews should not be subjected to this hatred or forced to surrender their Jewish identity in order to be welcome in places of public accommodation.”
The National Jewish Advocacy Center is a nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of the legal system to advocate for and protect Jewish civil rights using creative, innovative strategies.
For media inquiries or assistance, contact press@njaclaw.org or (332) 278-1100. This press release can be found at http://njaclaw.org on the News tab.
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