In a victory for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israeli apartheid, a judge in Olympia, Wash., before a packed courtroom on Feb. 27, dismissed a lawsuit against the Olympia Food Co-op that attempted to force the co-op to end its boycott of Israeli goods.
The judge ruled that the lawsuit by Zionist activists violated a Washington state law against abusive lawsuits intended to use intimidation to suppress public participation in legal activities. The court is awarding the defendants attorneys’ fees and costs, and will levy sanctions against the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit was brought by five individuals against present and former members of the Olympia Food Co-op Board. However, an investigation by Electronic Intifada revealed that the suit was actually planned in collusion with the national racist anti-Palestinian organization StandWithUs, as well as with representatives of the Israeli government.
Olympia a hotbed of BDS activism
Olympia is the capital of Washington state, and the home to The Evergreen State College, a public college known for its alternative pedagogy and socially conscious student body.
Olympia was also the home of Rachel Corrie, a student at TESC who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer on March 16, 2003, while trying to stop a house demolition in Rafah. Her parents, Craig and Cindy Corrie, still live in Olympia and are active in the Palestinian solidarity movement.
In spring 2010, students at TESC voted overwhelmingly for the college to divest from Israel. In July 2010, community members campaigned for and won a boycott vote at the Olympia Food Co-op. There was extensive debate and discussion before the Co-op board voted to boycott Israeli goods.
The anti-Palestinian activists, as members of the Co-op, could have followed Co-op procedures to put the Co-op board’s boycott decision on the ballot to be voted on by the entire co-op membership. Instead, they made baseless, vague statements accusing the Co-op and the BDS movement of “anti-Semitism.” They also discussed the suit with Akiva Tor, Israeli consul general (stationed in San Francisco) in Olympia in March 2011.
Documents uncovered by Electronic Intifada show that five co-op members associated with StandWithUs demanded an end to the boycott in a threatening letter that sounded remarkably like a ransom note: “If you do what we demand, this situation may be resolved amicably and efficiently. If not, we will bring legal action against you, and this process will become considerably more complicated, burdensome, and expensive than it has been already.”
‘SLAPP’ lawsuit designed to chill free speech
The Center for Constitutional Rights, whose lawyers defended the Olympia Food Co-op, argued that the lawsuit was an example of “SLAPP”—strategic litigation against public participation. In a statement, CCR explained:
SLAPPs are lawsuits that target the constitutional rights of free speech and petition in connection with an issue of public concern. Although many cases that qualify as SLAPPs are without legal merit, they can nonetheless effectively achieve their primary purpose: to chill public debate on specific issues. Defending against a SLAPP requires substantial money, time, and legal resources, and can divert attention away from the public issue and intimidate and silence other speakers. Washington state’s anti-SLAPP statute was enacted in 2010 to deter such lawsuits.
On Feb. 27, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Thomas McPhee told a packed courtroom that he agreed with that analysis and dismissed the lawsuit, ordering the StandWithUs-backed plaintiffs to pay court costs and legal fees.
He also upheld the constitutionality of Washington’s anti-SLAPP law, which the plaintiffs had challenged. Each of the defendants in the case could be entitled to receive up to $10,000 from the plaintiffs in addition to legal fees.
Judge says BDS is a national movement
In attempting to overturn the Olympia Food Co-op’s boycott of Israeli goods, the plaintiffs had argued that the Co-op could only observe “nationally recognized” boycotts, and that BDS did not fit that description. However, McPhee found that BDS was “nationally recognized,” and that the situation in Palestine was clearly a matter of public concern. Therefore, BDS activism on behalf of Palestinian human rights, such as the Olympia Food Co-op’s boycott, consists of activities protected under the anti-SLAPP law.
The Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement targeting Israel is modeled after the movement against South African apartheid. In both cases, the U.S. government has supported the racist regimes while engaging in double-talk to whitewash its role.
BDS is an activist strategy that can engage people at the grassroots and educate the public about the reality of Israeli apartheid and the role of the United States in upholding this racist state. The decision to dismiss the suit is a real victory. As Cindy Corrie wrote in an e-mail to activists following the decision, “It was a jubilant morning at Thurston County Superior Court for the Olympia Food Co-op, for the BDS movement, for all of us who work on this issue, and for free speech.”
