In January, a small group of Arabs and Jews within Weavers Way Co-op, a Philadelphia food store owned and operated by members, threatened to boycott produce from the Israeli-administered territories, but when the proposal was brought to a vote at last month's biannual member's meeting, it was overwhelmingly rejected by at least 100 votes. The issue was first raised by Linda Hanna, an Arab-American, and four other members. At the same time, members of local Jewish organizations Germantown Jewish Center, Congregation Mishkan Shalom, P'nai Or Religious Fellowship of Philadelphia, the Jewish Children's Folkshul, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, the Shalom Aleichem Club, and the Tikkun Community banded together to battle the potential boycott.
As an alternative solution, some suggested purchasing olive oil produced by Palestinian firms, or goods grown and/or made by joint, progressive Israeli-Palestinian ventures. According to Glenn Bergman, general manager of Weaver's Way, the only produce possibly affected by a boycott would have been basil.
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