PORT TOWNSEND – International politics have a local spotlight on Sunday, with two presentations offering opposing views of Israel in light of an expected decision on Tuesday about a proposed boycott of Israeli products at the Port Townsend Food Co-op.
At 4:30 p.m., Gideon Lustig, deputy consul general of Israel for the Pacific Northwest region, will speak at Quimper Universalist Unitarian Fellowship, 2333 San Juan Ave., in opposition to the proposed boycott.
Earlier that day, at 2 p.m. at the Masonic Lodge, 1338 Jefferson St., activist Kit Kittredge of Quilcene will give a presentation about her five trips to the Gaza Strip, and why the actions of Israel in that region deserve world attention.
Kittredge was one of the initiators of a proposal that the food co-op boycott Israeli goods, which would, if approved, discontinue the sale of eight Israeli products, “until Israel stops violating international law and the rights of the Palestinian people.”
Both meetings are open to the public.
The proposal to boycott Israeli goods will be considered by the six-member food co-op board at meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Quimper Universalist hall where Lustig will speak on Sunday.
Comment from member-owners will be taken at that time, but members will not vote on the matter, said Sam Gibboney, board chairman.
Lustig, who is based in San Francisco, has requested a separate meeting with the co-op board, Gibboney said. The meeting has not been scheduled.
The measure will need at least four out of six votes to pass, Gibboney said.
Lustig was invited through Rob Jacobs, director of StandWithUs of Seattle, who has become involved in the issue.
The boycott proposal, if approved, would be the second such boycott passed by a food co-op in the nation.
The first was approved by the Olympia Food Co-op board in July.
There, the measure was passed without adequate notification of its membership, Jacobs said.
“This action fragmented the Jewish community,” he said.
“People had been shopping at the co-op for years and were conflicted. They didn’t want to shop there anymore.”
Material urging a boycott has been distributed in the Port Townsend Food Co-op since July.
The Israeli consulate learned of the proposal and chose to take action, mindful of Port Townsend’s small population and the modest number affected by any boycott action.
The co-op has about 5,200 active members.
“There is an attempt to disseminate information that is not true,” said Israeli Consul General Akiva Tor, speaking from San Francisco on Thursday.
“These boycotts are not constructive actions.
“These are divisive issues that tear communities apart.”
Kittredge has called Israelis “bullies” who do not respect the rights of Palestinians and do not allow farmers to use their land.
She has not called for the dissolution of Israel, saying she would be satisfied if the boundaries set after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War were reinstated.
Tor used the word “bully” when speaking of Palestinian, although he said he holds some hope that recent events — such as the Palestinian president’s recent visit to Israel –will lead to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Tor said there are no current plans to visit other co-ops, since no similar proposals are pending.
He did not rule out making other similar visits if the need arises.
Port Townsend residents have the opportunity to hear opposite albeit second hand accounts of the Middle East conflict, and still must make up their own mind as to what to believe.
Kittredge presents pictures and verbal accounts of her visits to Gaza, which she said documents Israeli mistreatment of the Palestinian people. She said she is not anti-Semitic.
Tor does not refute that assertion with regard to Kittredge, but said the idea that the boycotts are not anti-Semitic is false.
“The people behind this boycott want nothing less than the dissolution of the state of Israel, the only democratically-elected government in the Middle East, in favor of a regime that does not respect the right of Israel to exist and one that does not respect the rights of women, Jews or Christians,” Tor said.
Those who attend one or both of Sunday’s forums may be more informed but no more certain.
“This is coming out of nowhere for the people of Port Townsend,” Jacobs said.
“You are being faced with a conflict that has not been solvable by great minds for years, where there is no simple solution.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
