I applaud the Olympia Food Co-op board for taking a principled and moral stand in their boycott of Israeli products.
As a 14-year member of OFC, a former Fulbright scholar to the West Bank, and a faculty of Middle East Studies at Evergreen, I am extremely grateful that our local co-op has set an example for the country in opposing the 43-year illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, described recently by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times as "morally reprehensible."
Boycott is one action that we in the U.S. can take to oppose ongoing U.S. military, economic, and political support of Israel's policies, which consistently violate international law and Palestinian human rights.
I first visited the occupied territories nearly 20 years ago, and the situation there has gotten steadily worse – increasing settlement expansion, confiscation of Palestinian land and water resources, and unprecedented forms of violence used against civilian populations, including weapons banned under international law.
As a Lebanese American, I have also watched as Israel, with U.S. weaponry and diplomatic cover, has launched wars against my ancestral homeland and against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
I especially thank local Jewish Americans who have spoken out against the immorality of Israel government actions and in support of the boycott.
We who have seen the occupation with our own eyes, or studied it, know that there is no way to justify this illegal and morally reprehensible occupation, and are taking action through our buying power to end this grave injustice.