Anthony Weiner is cashing in the level of support he had banked on before jumping in to the race for mayor. At a Father’s Day Sunday street fair in Park Slope, the reception for Mr. Weiner was glowing. Politcker’s Jill Colvin met up with with some passers-by voters who were pretty much enthused about Mr. Weiner’s candidacy.

“You’ve got my vote,” shouted one woman as she passed. “Hey Anthony, you’re the only one that can win and keep us on the right track!” yelled another.

“We’ve got your back,” said Dominick Mattina, 74, another resident, who had nothing but good things to say about the recently-announced mayoral candidate. “I always liked him … The way he talks, the way he acts. And he helps the people out–that’s the best.”

Maude Brown, who lives in Kensington, told Mr. Weiner that she’d urged him to run for mayor back when she met him years ago. “Finally!” she exclaimed, wishing him luck after signing his petition. “I never wanted him to resign. I would have toughed it out.”

“He’s fairly progressive. And I think for the city, they need somebody who’s got a lot of chutzpah and charisma,” said Ms. Brown. “At the moment, I would say he’s my number one.”

Myrna Tirado, 25, a former student of Mr. Weiner’s mom who now works as a banker, also said Mr. Weiner had her vote. “I wish him the best of luck,” she said. “I hope he wins.”

She further praised Mr. Weiner for being “honest and truthful with the public,” despite the fact that he repeatedly lied to cover up the now-infamous Twitter photo he accidentally sent out publicly.

We were gratified that the anti-Israel Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement failed in its bid to bring the Park Slope Food Co-op, located in Park Slope, Brooklyn into its ranks. Last week, co-op members voted overwhelmingly against a motion calling for a referendum on whether to join BDS and refuse to carry Israeli goods.

BDS seeks to organize boycotts against Israel as a means to force changes in Israeli policy regarding the West bank and Gaza. The Park Slope Co-op is a 39-year-old market known for its organic produce and its left of center membership. The vote on the referendum motion was 1,005 against and 653 in favor.

The co-op would seem to be fertile ground for BDS importuning, so the defeat of the proposed boycott defeat could be significant. However, The New York Times reported that Liz Roberts, a member of the pro-boycott group, vowed to go forward: “[D]espite our loss in tonight’s vote, we have succeeded in one of our goals: BDS has entered into the consciousness of thousands of co-op members and has even made it into mainstream conversations.” And therein lies the rub.

Several of New York City’s leading politicians, including those connected to the Park Slope area, went public with their opposition to the boycott. But most waited until the eve of the vote to do so. Had an analogous plan been floated directed at other groups, we suspect that expressions of dismay and rebuke would have been faster in coming and more robust. This is especially important now that it appears BDS efforts in New York City neighborhoods are a work in progress.

Ginia Bellafante writes in the NY Times about the Park Slope co-op wars we told you about a week ago (In-Fighting at Brooklyn Food Co-op over Israel Boycott). She points out the obvious: “Calling for a boycott of Israeli-made foods at the Park Slope Food Co-op turns out to be a lot like calling for a boycott of Speedos in Minsk. In addition to Sodastream seltzer makers and replacement cartridges, there are currently only a handful of foods in the whole establishment produced in Israel. One of them, an olive spread made by a company called Peaceworks, uses olives grown in Palestinian  villages and glass jars made in Egypt. The company diverts 5 percent of its profits to peace-promoting causes.”

And, predictably, the use of a health food-related organization for political reasons has enraged the Hummus Party. I kid you not.

“‘The BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, a campaign first initiated on 9 July 2005 by 171 Palestinian non-governmental organizations in support of the Palestinian cause for Boycott, Divestment  and International Sanctions against Israel) people have been having their events in the co-op itself,’ Marion Stein, a 15-year member, told me, ‘and that’s something that we in the Hummus group find very upsetting.’”

Essentially, objections to using a food co-op to attack Israel was a running theme among the objectors, like Matt Lewkowicz, a young composer, who said: “The whole thing is ridiculous, I have plenty of outlets for my political opinions. The co-op isn’t one of them. I just want really good dried fruit.”

First, heartfelt thanks to Kyle Smith of the NY Post for this gem of a New York Jewish story. He writes about the Park Slope Food Co-op near Prospect Park in Brooklyn which usually confines its activities to reports on safe and organic foods and commuting on bicycles; and then there’s the announcement of a meeting to “consider a proposal to join the BDS movement.”

According to Wikipedia, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) refers to a campaign first initiated on 9 July 2005 by 171 Palestinian non-governmental organizations in support of the Palestinian cause for Boycott, Divestment  and International Sanctions against Israel.

And the Park Slope food co-op BDS website wants in on all that great action: “BDS is a nonviolent tactic recently adopted by the decades-long Palestinian movement to end Israel’s violent and illegal occupation of their lands, gain equal rights, and achieve peace, freedom and economic stability.”

Isn’t that special. I have no idea which Israeli products an organic, ostensibly locally-grown-produce-only type place, would boycott. Perhaps after a meal of nothing but a green, leafy salad, they just have to go for a low cost Pesek Zman… So now it’s back to snickers for the folks on the hill.

But seriously, are they for real? They write: “We think that joining the BDS movement will help send a message to Israel that it must honor international law and human rights.”

I can just see it now – Prime Minister Netanyahu’s red phone is ringing, it’s 3 in the morning, Israel’s ambassador to the US is on the line – Sir, we’re losing the food co-op near Prospect Park. If the co-op boycotts us, we’re doomed. – Fine, fine, just tell those settlers to pack up the suitcases and get on the trucks, they’ll understand…

Naturally, this whole boycott and sanctions thing is not at all about the realities of the Middle East, concerning which the sum total of most Americans’ knowledge can be written on the pinky fingernail of a small child. This is about the Jews of Park Slope being embarrassed about their other country and how colonialist it makes them look at mixers. Because they clearly write:

“It will also make the PSFC a more welcoming place for all people who want justice realized in Palestine. And taken in a larger context, we believe that BDS is one of multiple ways to participate in the global struggle against all forms of oppression.”

Naturally, we’re against oppression everywhere, but we’ll go after the Jews first.

Luckily, just as paper cannot refuse ink (been proven), the Internet cannot refuse new websites. Which explains the Stop BDS at the Park Slope Food Coop site, that just a couple days ago cited Glenn Beck, the original cite by the Brooklyn Paper regarding the proposed BDS:

“What is happening with the food co-op where they are seriously considering a boycott of Israel?” he said, likening the suggested ban to a subtle version of drawing swastikas. “When you use words like ‘I’m just anti-Israel’ or ‘I’m just anti-Zionist’ — that’s anti-Semitic.”

And that, my friends, may be the most embarrassing thing about this entire incident – that the day has come when I agree with Glenn Beck. I am not happy.

Incidentally, the meeting on whether or not to BDS the Jews takes place on Monday, 2/27. Be there, if you can.

Comptroller

William Thompson

Public Advocate

Betsy Gottbaum

Boro President

Brooklyn

Marty Markowitz

Queens

Helen Marshall

District Attorney

Brooklyn

Charles J. Hynes

City Council

Brooklyn

39th District ? (Park Slope, Gowanus, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Windsor Terrace, Kensington)

Bill DeBlasio

43rd District ? (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Boro Park, Bensonhurst)

Martin J. Golden

44th District ? (Borough Park, part of Flatbush, part of Bensonhurst)

Simcha Felder

45th District ? (East Flatbush, part of Flatbush and part of Rugby)

Kendall Stewart

46th District ? (Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach, Mill Basin, Bergen Beach Canarsie Starrett City)

Lewis A. Fidler

47th District ? (Sea Gate, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, part of Bath Beach)

Domenic M. Recchia, Jr.

48th District ? (Flatbush, Midwood, Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach)

Michael C. Nelson

Queens

23rd District ? (Douglaston, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Oakland Gardens, Floral Park, Bellaire, Bellerose, Holliswood, parts of Queens Village)

David I. Weprin

Manhattan

1st District ? (Lower Manhattan)

Alan Gerson

Supreme Court

Brooklyn

Judge Howard A. Ruditzky

Queens

Judge Martin Ritholtz

Civil Court

Staten Island

Eric Vitalliano

Ulster County Treasurer

Lew Kirschner

Ramapo Town Supervisor

Kathy Ellsworth

Ramapo Town Councilman

Harry Reiss