Rally for Dialogue

WE LOVE THE CO-OP . WE ARE THE CO-OP .

Eastside Co-op, Friday, July 30 at 5 p.m.

The Co-op’s Board of Directors’ recent decision to boycott Israeli products has resulted in dividing our community. Why? The process didn’t include all of us, the process resulted in losing our sense of community, the process didn’t bring us closer together, the process didn’t remind us of who we are. The boycott addresses a limited view of a complex issue. We’re calling on the Co-op Board to rescind the boycott. We’re calling for community dialogue.

DETAILS: Unless you are disabled or have difficulty walking please don’t park your car in the Co-op parking lot or along Landsdale Road. If you can, please walk, bike or take the bus. The bus schedule can be found here:

http://www.intercitytransit.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Route%2066.pdf

If you must drive, please carpool, and park where appropriate, but in a way that doesn’t block traffic or impact the Co-op or its neighbors. We encourage signs, but please help us maintain a positive message. This is about advocating for dialogue, NOT attacking the Co-op. Sign ideas: “WE CAN TALK” / “WE CAN LISTEN” / “WE CAN COME TOGETHER” / “NO ONE ASKED ME” / “I LOVE THE CO-OP” / “WE CAN DO BETTER.” If you have questions, please email us at: its.our.coop@gmail.com

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These posts on the boycott are to inform our community and members.

Regards,

Anneke

The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle is deeply troubled by the Olympia Food Co-op’s decision to boycott Israeli products. Additionally, we are disappointed that the co-op’s board chose to make this decision without a thoughtful and inclusive discussion with its members.

We have been in regular contact with key leaders in the Olympia Jewish community, including Rabbi Seth Goldstein of Temple Beth Hatfiloh, since this crisis became known to us on Tuesday. The Olympia Jewish community has begun to formulate its strategy for responding to this boycott. We will be working closely with Rabbi Goldstein to ensure that he has the support necessary to successfully address this boycott in his local community. Co-op members, Jews from Olympia and other concerned Olympia residents have chosen to picket the store. A petition is being circulated to urge the board to reconsider their position. Still others are preparing to express their concerns at a co-op members’ meeting on August 11. In Rabbi Goldstein’s “Weekly Words” letter to Temple Beth Hatfiloh members, he asks people concerned about the boycott to share their thoughts with him directly at rabbi@bethhatfiloh.org. If you have questions, ideas, or are willing to lend a helping hand, please communicate directly with Rabbi Goldstein.

Of course, what has happened in Olympia is only a small part of a growing number of BDS (boycotts, divestments, and sanctions) initiatives. Not too long ago, the Seattle community faced a proposed boycott by Madison Market. Local co-op members and community members successfully defeated that proposal. Just a couple of days ago, the Port Townsend Co-op announced that it too would be considering a boycott of Israeli products. In the coming weeks we will be calling our community together for the purpose of developing a strategy to combat local boycotts which is strategic, effective, and addresses the uniqueness of each community.

Boycotts against Israel, such as this one, fail in their aim to help Palestinians by damaging Israel’s economy. Approximately 20% of Israel’s labor force is made up of Israeli Arabs as well as Palestinians living in the West Bank; they and their families suffer as a result of BDS initiatives. We believe that businesses that care genuinely about a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should support both Israelis and Palestinians—for example, by carrying Israeli products and donating a portion of the proceeds to organizations that promote peaceful relations between the two peoples. We believe that change is achieved not by divisive boycotts and divestments, but rather by education and peaceful dialogue.

We are concerned about the message that this boycott may send to other businesses. We ask you to do your part to help stop the spread of boycotts and divestments throughout our community. Here are some ways that you can help:

• Shop specifically at stores that stock Israeli products
• Go out of your way to thank the management, in person or in writing, for carrying Israeli products
• Ask friends and family members to purchase Israeli products in their communities, and to be sure to thank the management for carrying these product
• Purchase products from www.IsraeliProducts.com, which donates 100% of its net profits to Israeli charities
• Visit www.investinisrael.gov.il to invest in an Israeli business

Thank you for doing all you can to support Israel and its people.

Sincerely,

Richard Fruchter
President and CEO
Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle

We’re less than a week away from the most awesome event of the year! THIS FRIDAY is our bagel breakfast (with kosher dairy/vegetarian and gluten-free options!) with unlimited laser tag, lots of bounce houses to satisfy our eternal inner-children and release the stress from the end of the quarter, and a 5-story climbing structure with slides, punching bags, obstacles, and more!! Get your tickets/RSVP SOON. Especially if you have dietary restrictions. We need RSVPs with food options chosen (unless you have no special needs dietarily) by Tuesday evening. Send those RSVPs, if you can’t purchase your tickets immediately, to hillel@evergreenhillel.org otherwise tickets are available at the door for $25.

For those of you who are worried about price, this is the best deal in the area for laser tag! And no other place offers bounce houses and crawly spaces or slides for adults! (Even if we don’t want to admit we are.) Not only is it the best deal in the area period, but for less than the price of an unlimited wristband purchased at regular price, you’re also getting breakfast out of the deal, AND we have the place to ourselves until Charlie’s opens its doors to the public at 11am!

If you’re unfamiliar with laser tag, there’s a link to explain how it plays. (Though Charlie’s doesn’t provide score cards, that’s the only real exception to the game play style, except for the 2-story towers in the Charlie’s Safari Laser Tag space!!!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6aSR5zms3s

Laser tag is a LOT of fun whether you’re an absolute beginner, or a seasoned vet! Think the recent Zombies at Evergreen events, but take out the zombies, add laser guns (phasers), and make it all glow under blacklight! Personally, as a lover of things futuristic and science fiction, I think it’s grand we have a laser tag setup like THIS in the area!

If you want to see how gameplay actually happens, there are lots of youtube videos on that, or watch the old Laser Tag commercials from 1986. They’re a riot!

Signing off and hoping to see many of you bouncing, climbing, sliding, or in the laser tag arena,

Anneke
anneke@evergreenhillel.org
Coordinator, Evergreen Hillel

June 4, 2010 – Charlie’s Safari Playdate & Bagel Breakfast flyer

On May 28, 2010 join the Evergreen Hillel as we celebrate the day of rest with our Last Shabbatluck of the Year! Bring a vegan or vegetarian (fish is OK) dish to share, and your favorite game as we celebrate the end of a fabulous Hillel year, surrounding ourselves with friends. While you’re here, we can talk about everything we’re planning for next year!

When:   Friday, May 28th
7pm – Late
Where:  Sem 2 E2105

On June 4, Come play with Hillel! Party it up in the morning!

From 9am on the Evergreen Hillel storms the Charlie’s Safari fort! A land of fabulous bounce houses, a 5-story climbing structure, unlimited laser tag, and a delicious bagel breakfast. Breakfast options will be kosher, catered by Bagel Brothers, and non-kosher options provided by Charlie’s Safari. Bring money for the arcade!

Socks required! Wear sneakers for Laser Tag.

Tickets available at the TESC Bookstore for $20 between May 24th & 31st.
Tickets will be $25 at the door.

Find Charlie’s Safari on InterCity Transit bus lines 62A & 62B, next to Regal Cinemas Martin Village.

For more information, or to RSVP, contact hillel@evergreenhillel.org

June 4, 2010 – Charlie’s Safari Playdate & Bagel Breakfast flyer

May 28, 2010 – The Last Shabbatluck Flyer

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Photos of the 4 dead at Kent State on May 4 1970

On May 4, 1970 the Ohio National Guard opened fire into a busy college campus during a school day. A total of 67 shots were fired in 13 seconds. Four students: (clockwise from Top Left) Allison Krause, William Schroeder, Sandra Scheuer, and Jeffrey Miller were killed protesting the war in Vietnam, as well as covert plans for invasions of Vietnam’s neighbouring countries.

Three of the 4 dead were Jewish.  The total Jewish population of Kent State University at the time was 5% of the campus student body.

Join us on Wednesday, May 5, as we commemorate and discuss the legacy of the Kent State 4. We’ll meet in Sem 2 E2105 at 2pm.

Download the event flyer here.

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Our Hillel Seder is quickly drawing near. This mean we will be grocery shopping. Given our limited budget, we cannot prepare food for a “Maybe” RSVP. We need either a yes or a no by 9:00am Thursday morning. (That’s tomorrow morning!) If you are a “Maybe” RSVP, feel free to attend, but please understand that although we will welcome you to enjoy the ritual, we cannot guarantee food.

If you have questions about what to bring for the potluck, or are wondering whether your dish is Kosher for Passover, please contact me with your concern. I am available via Facebook, and email at josh@evergreenhillel.org

This is not a first night, or a second night Seder, so traditional guidelines are looser regarding the ceremony. We’ve decided to take this opportunity to explore the theme of freedom from a nontraditional perspective. This Seder, we will be using a modified version of “A Survivor’s Haggadah – Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse”. For those who have been abused themselves, whether early or later in life, the Seder may be triggering. For those who have never had to deal with these experiences, may this Seder open your eyes to those who are not free.

A PDF is available at http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/SurvivorsHaggadah.pdf for those who wish to get a preview. Of course, there will be enough print copies for everyone on Friday night.

An important note on Seder behavior:

In the past, people have attended Hillel events under the influence of various substances. The Passover Seder is one of Judaism’s most sacred occasions. As such, all are asked to attend our events sober. Wine will be provided at the event; people arriving inebriated will be turned away at the door. We will hold to this rule no matter the substance. As such, if you become disruptively inebriated during the Seder, we reserve the right to ask you to leave.

We only have enough wine for 4 glasses each (per the Seder guidelines).

b’Shalom,
Joshua Levine

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