Massachusetts Rabbis Urge Boycott of California Grapes in Support of Strikers

The Massachusetts Board of Rabbis has come out in support of striking grape pickers in Delano, Calif, by calling for a Jewish boycott of California table grapes. The board, which represents the Conservative, Reform and Orthodox branches of the Massachusetts Jewish community, adopted a resolution urging all congregations to consider the California table grapes unfit for use in synagogues and in religious Jewish homes.

In drafting their resolution, the rabbinical group invoked the Talmudical injunction against “oshek” – the oppression of a hired man. “The farm workers are a group that has thus far been excluded from coverage of Federal Labor and minimum wage laws,” the resolution stated. “Vast groups of farm workers are exploited with substandard wages and dehumanizing living conditions. We therefore call the attention of our congregants to the present strike of the grape pickers in California. The owners have been bringing in help from Mexico to break this strike. Hence the boycott is the only significant countervailing power available to these impoverished farm workers. We therefore urge Jewish congregations to consider that California table grapes are unfit for use in any synagogue or synagogal function until this strike is settled.”