Medea Benjamin is the cofounder of CODEPINK: Women for Peace and Global Exchange, both organizations dedicated to a peaceful, sustainable world. She has helped to organize many delegations to Gaza and the region, including the Gaza Freedom March. CODEPINK is also the lead organization of a campaign to boycott the Israeli cosmetic company AHAVA.
I applaud the Olympia Food Coop’s decision to take a stand for a just and equitable Middle East peace by acting on Palestinian Civil Society’s call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions. Cooperatives are inherently democratic organizations, and the Olympia Food Coop has shown that it is willing to work against the undemocratic apartheid system and occupation that strips Palestinians of their right to self-determination. Cooperatives have a long history of working for and with the oppressed to strive for a better world, and now Olympia Food Coop has been the first to build off of that legacy. I encourage other cooperatives, grocers, and businesses to follow their courageous example of boycotting Israeli goods and for shoppers to support their principled stand.
Medea Benjamin
