By Brett Cihon , Special to JTNews
Tibor Breuer loves the Olympia Food Co-op. He loves it so much, he is prepared to spend the entire winter sleeping outside the co-op’s doors.
“I won’t leave until [the board] makes a move,” Breuer said. “Hopefully that happens soon. But you never know.”
Breuer has taken up his position outside of Westside Olympia’s Food Co-op in response to its recently passed boycott of products imported from Israel. From a stool next to the co-op’s entrance, he passes out informational flyers and talks with customers passing by. When the store closes, he rolls out a sleeping bag and spends the night on the cold cement ground, only to retake his spot on his stool the next day. He has slept outside of the co-op since Sept. 26.
“After the store closes, I turn this place into my living room,” Breuer said, pointing to the area where he sleeps. “I have a chair, I have some soup. It’s really not too bad.”
Breuer is no stranger to the Olympia Food Co-op. He has been a member for 22 years. He has helped build shelves, replace doors, and fix the building’s roof. Breuer also served four years as a co-op board member.
“My own co-op has run me out,” Breuer said. “I’m not just a shopper, not just a Jew, but I’ve vested 22 years of my life into this place.”
Breuer, like many others in Olympia, became outraged when the 10-member Food Co-op board voted on July 15 to stop carrying products made in Israel. According to the boycott announcement, the co-op board voted in favor of the ban in an effort to compel Israel to follow international law and respect Palestinian human rights. Shortly after the vote, moisturizing cream, ice cream cones, and gluten-free crackers were removed from the shelves and replaced by small signs alerting shoppers to the board’s decision.
For Breuer, the issue is much bigger than moisturizing cream.
“It’s not about the three little products in the store,” he said. “It’s bigger than that. It’s about delegitimizing Israel.”
The resolution in part states that the boycott will not end until “Israel respects, protects and promotes the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.” Critics say this statement calls for the end of Israel as a Jewish state.
Breuer, along with other members of Olympia’s Jewish community, believes the boycott was railroaded through by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Breuer said the BDS representatives pushed their pro-Palestine agenda to the board, allowing little time for discussion or transparency. The Olympia Food Co-op is the nation’s first co-op in the nation to support the boycott. Port Townsend Food Co-op recently voted down a similar ban.
Breuer said he will end his vigil in front of the store once the board rescinds the ban on products made in Israel, opens up dialogue, and allows for a revote on the ban. Until then, he doesn’t plan on moving. He has yet to hear any response from the board.
Breuer refuses to step into the co-op. Supporters bring him soup, crackers and other niceties. A Porta Potty has been installed on a friend’s lot across the street. He is rarely alone, and many customers call him by name when they pass into the store.
Ultimately, Breuer said he is protesting outside the Co-op for the good of the store he loves.
“I don’t care what side of the fence you’re on,” he said. “[The boycott] hurts us. This will destroy our community.”