The River Valley Co-op board has decided to continue selling Israeli-owned products after a majority of member-owners voted against a proposed boycott.
Of the more than 3,500 members who voted in the advisory poll Wednesday night, only 22% voted in favor of the boycott.
The co-op runs grocery stores in Northampton and Easthampton.
Molly Merrett, one of the organizers of the proposal to remove Israeli products in solidarity with Palestinians, said she received many emails from the board saying to vote against the boycott.
"A lot of people who received the correspondence from the co-op didn't know much about the issues, didn't know much about the campaign. They were just getting an email from the co-op saying, vote 'no' on this thing. So, we're not surprised at all at the results of the ballot because it wasn't really a fair process," Merrett said.
Merrett said they plan to continue organizing and standing up for Palestinian rights.
President of the River Valley Co-Op board, Abby Getman Skillicorn, said in her remarks before the vote, “I will state again, the board and management are asking owners to vote 'no' on this petition because we believe the campaign’s demands are counter to our inclusive approach as a community-owned grocery store.”
The co-op board has not returned a request for comment, but the stores' general manager, Rochelle Prunty, said it will take time for supporters of the boycott to process this decision.
"The disagreement is on a tactic. It's not really that significant of a disagreement on the bigger issues or what we're trying to do together to support our community and support our local farmers,” Prunty said.
Prunty said the co-op has donated to groups sending humanitarian aid to Gaza through national food co-op organization channels.
And we should note River Valley Co-op is a sponsor of NEPM. The newsroom operates independently.
