Israel lobby group allowed to table at Sac Co-op, other viewpoints banned

► Please take action:

Today, May 23, Co-op GM Paul Cultrera allowed Barry Broad's "Save the Co-op" group to table at the Co-op again with the Israel lobby's perspective on Israel/Palestine. He banned Barry Broad from tabling after Broad grabbed a woman on the wrist on May 8 and she complained in writing to the Co-op. (More info on Save our Co-op below).

However, Cultrera's standard for "behavioral problems" is vastly different for Broad's group. Cultrera says he banned an entire group, Sacramento Area Peace Action, and anyone associated with them from tabling based on allegations of complaints against some individual tablers instead of simply banning individual tablers as he did with Broad. Cultrera has still not provided any documentation against the SAPA tablers. In reality, Cultrera's ban is based on CONTENT, not CONDUCT.

Please contact the Co-op Board and Cultrera and tell them that it is offensive to you that they are allowing one viewpoint on the Israeli/Palestinian issue while prohibiting others. Also tell them to follow their Bylaws and put the Human Rights and Restore Co-op Democracy initiatives on the ballot -- tell them you want to vote. Contact info below.

Also, please come to the Friday, June 3, 5pm Free Speech and Democracy Sidewalk Rally at the Co-op to ask the Co-op Board to Lift the Spirit of Humanity and 1) end the tabling ban; 2) let Members vote on member initiatives; and 3) support human rights. Let others know about this. More info: http://coopdemocracy.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/june-3-2011-rally-full-page-flyer.pdf and announcement below.

And please come to the Tuesday, June 7, 6pm Board meeting followed by the Quarterly member meeting.
Help educate others, ask them to check out: http://www.coopdemocracy.org.

► Co-op contact info:
Co-op Board of Directors
Board President, Steve Maviglio- steven_maviglio [at] yahoo.com
Michelle Reynolds – michellereyn [at] gmail.com
Alicia Dienst – adienst [at] sbcglobal.net
Sonny Eboigbe – sonemi [at] comcast.net
Robert Duncan – rhdjr65 [at] aol.com
Georgianna Pfost – sccfcommittee [at] yahoo.com
Ann Richardson (appointed by Board on May 3 to fill vacancy from Steve Brancamp’s leaving).
Emails only: steven_maviglio [at] yahoo.com; michellereyn [at] gmail.com, adienst [at] sbcglobal.net, sonemi [at] comcast.net, rhdjr65 [at] aol.com, sccfcommittee [at] yahoo.com

Co-op General Manager: Paul Cultrera pcultrera [at] sacfoodcoop.com or call the store 916-455-2667

► Announcement for June 3 rally:
Friday, Jun 3, 5pm, Free Speech and Democracy Sidewalk Rally. Help the Co-op on its Anti-Depression Friday to Lift the Spirit of Humanity by asking its Board and Management to end the tabling ban, let the Members vote, and support everyone's human rights! A special guest, Israeli activist Dalit Baum, will join us. 1914 Alhambra, Sacramento. FMI: humanrightsareacoopvalue [at] gmail.com

► What is the group “Save Our Co-op”?
“Save Our Co-op” was started by Barry Broad, chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC). Save Our Co-op claims that the Co-op Members who have proposed the Human Rights Initiative are anti-Semitic and are trying “to bring divisiveness to our community by trying to drag us into Middle Eastern conflicts.”

The JCRC is an unelected body that purports to speak for the Sacramento Jewish community on various issues, with much of its activity focused on quashing any dissent from uncritical support of Israeli government policies. JCRC has excluded from its ranks Jewish groups that criticize Israeli policy. The majority of Jews in Sacramento do not belong to any of the organizations that are represented on JCRC. JCRC is an affiliate of the Jewish Federation which nationally has allocated $6 million to “combat” BDS efforts. More info: http://www.muzzlewatch.com.