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Audette
Cadillac
Uncooperative
Petitioners want food co-op
to boycott Israeli products.
Shelli Liebman Dorfman
Senior Writer
Ann Arbor
W
AUDETT
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Signatures of 7 percent of
members force a vote.
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COMPLIMENTARY GIFT WRAPPING
22
September 6 • 2007
jp4
hat some people mistak-
enly viewed as an Ann
Arbor co-op's plan to boy-
cott Israeli-made products is actually
the action of a small group of People's
Food Co-op members to force a vote
to have the items removed from the
shelves.
"The co-op as a whole is not calling
for this',' said Kevin Sharp, the co-op's
director of marketing and member
services. "We have just under 6,000
owners and only a small group
of members have initiated this
petition drive."
Sharp said, "In our bylaws
is the allowance for members
to bring forth a referendum."
Because the co-op's bylaws
do not specify what can and can't be
highlighted in a referendum, issues
that are not agreed upon by most
members may be presented.
"So when co-op members who are
also members of Boycott Israeli Goods
came to the board asking for sup-
port of a boycott of Israeli items, they
were told that in accordance with our
bylaws, if they could gather signatures
of 7 percent of the membership of the
co-op on a petition, a vote on the issue
would be forced."
Of the 1,000 signatures the group
obtained, Sharp said less than half
were from valid co-op members and
the others were not counted. But
the number of valid signatures was
enough to force a vote.
A ballot box, placed in the store
on Sept. 1, will remain for the entire
month to collect votes. Only co-op
members can vote. To be a valid refer-
endum, 10 percent of members must
participate, and a majority of those
voting will determine whether there's
a boycott, Sharp said.
"The co-op board has officially
remained neutral on this',' Sharp said.
And we are not in communication
with this group at all."
The co-op has supported two boy-
1301840
Educator Honored
Federation's Alliance for Jewish
Education has named Clara Gaba of
Hillel Day School in Farmington Hills
the recipient of the 2007 Grinspoon-
Steinhardt Award.
Born in Israel and a resident of
West Bloomfield since 1973, Gaba is
a resource and mentor to new teach-
ers. For many years at Hillel, she has
served as a Judaic studies curriculum
coordinator for grades 3-5.
The award was established by the
Harold Grinspoon Foundation and
the Jewish Life Network-Steinhardt
cotts in the past, with members voting
overwhelmingly to support the United
Farm Workers of America table grape
boycott and to boycott non-dolphin
safe tuna.
"These decisions went to a vote of
our membership without petitions,
because they were in alignment with
our values',' Sharp said.
Voting on the current boycott issue
is open only to co-op members who
joined before the end of July, to assure
that individuals do not join for the
purpose of voting — either for or
against the boycott.
Foundation to rec-
ognize outstanding
Jewish educators
who have demon-
strated a career
commitment to their
field.
Gaba will receive
Clara Gaba
$1,500 from the
foundations and
$1,000 supported by Federation's
Alliance to be used for professional
development.