An Open Letter To The Park Slope Food Coop by Rhudi Andreolli, one of the four who ware suspended from the PSFC for disrupting BDS Propaganda

BS"D

From: Rhudi Andreolli <cookingforfriends@yahoo.com>
Date: December 7, 2016 at 4:11:43 PM EST
To: "cookingforfriends@yahoo.com" <cookingforfriends@yahoo.com>
Subject: Open Letter To The PSFC

An Open Letter To The Park Slope Food Coop

I want to apologize to the Park Slope Food Coop (PSFC) in the People's Republic of Brooklyn for being naive.

I have been very naive in thinking that the PSFC was a collective for the purpose of providing affordable, healthy and organic food to its members.

I was in for a rude awakening; that's not what the co-op really stands for.

The co-op accused me of disrupting and causing havoc amongst the members at the General Meeting on April 28, 2015.

I honestly thought that I was protecting the co-op from an anti-Semitic, terrorist organization (BDS) and its continuing efforts to disseminate their hate fueled propaganda and lies about Israel and the Jewish people.

For eight years I put up with their hate, lies and propaganda in the PSFC newspaper and at General Meetings.

Four years ago they wanted to boycott products from Israel. 

They were voted down but the powers in the PSFC who support or are members of BDS did not stop them.

At a General Meeting on April 28, 2015 members advocating the boycott of an Israeli product (Soda Stream,) posted photos (slides) which other members deemed provocative and unrelated to the issue at hand and asked that they be taken down. 

Some of the offending photos portrayed what were purported to be IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) soldiers behaving in a ruthless and inhumane manner.

At that point I went up to the stage to protest the PSFC continuing to allow the spewing of lies and hate. I didn't know that I was disrupting democratic free speech. I was joined by several other members.

Four of us were the subjects of a disciplinary hearing on April 10, 2016. We were accused by BDS members or sympathizers of interfering with members' exercise of free-speech.

We were found guilty of disrupting a presentation of hate,lies and propaganda.

We were ousted on our butts.

I want to apologize for my naïvite.