The Wedge Free-range ban
The Wedge Co-op in Minneapolis has banned its workers from displaying any political symbol of support for Palestine or anti-war in Gaza. Some employees are complaining that they have been sent home for wearing free Palestine or the Palestinian flag signs. Customers, however, can still register a formal complaint or fill out a customer card.
This latest Wedge Co-Op controversial ban hasn’t yet reached mainstream media, which is consumed and obsessed with Trump’s golf trips and assaults on Universities’ sovereignty and academic freedom. The Wedge ban is still confined to social media and where people started their protests and complaints; “ “So heads up, workers at Wedge Co-op in Minneapolis have been targeted by a Zionist group for wearing pins supporting Palestine and the Co-op upper management sided with the group and banned the workers from displaying any support. They’ve been sending workers home who don’t fall in line. ….” Posted Modern Lover on Threads. This struck a chord in the Twin Cities community, with lots of calls for a boycott of the Wedge. I contacted the management of the wedge by email, asking about their banning of Palestinian symbols and whether this ban extends to other political symbols, like Pro-Ukraine, and Pro-Israel, and I got this quick response addressing their SHARIA dress code “The staff of Wedge Community Co-ops are unionized, and we are working within those channels to hear and resolve concerns related to our updated Dress Code. Under the updated Dress Code our staff are allowed to wear expressions of support for causes the co-op explicitly supports. We remain committed to our mission of Build Community by Developing a Strong Local Food System and providing opportunities for our staff to express themselves around it.” Jill Holter Wedge Community Co-ops Marketing Department. I thanked Ms. Jill and brought to her attention that her response didn’t address whether the political ban is extended to other political symbols, like Pro-Ukraine, and Pro-Israel. They haven’t come to me as of writing this article. The wedge seemed to allow its workers to wear expressions of support for organic free-range causes, picked by the management’s hands. We live in a world now, where asking for the stopping of wars, genocide, and bombing of children and women, becomes a cause that the management of the Wedge has to discuss and debate! When the local community-based Wedge Co-Op, which is so meticulous about its organic products that it displays them with such reverence as if they are blessed by the local Shaman, now bans its workers from wearing a Palestinian flag. Would that Wedge ban extend to banning watermelons, the symbol Palestinian flag, I wondered. The Wedge co-op brags as it posted on its website, about its social consciousness, community-owned “From sourcing food and products made with care and intention to partnering with local makers, we bring our favorite findings to your local Wedge Co-op shelf. We’re grateful to work with over 100 local producers and vendors, all within miles from our door.” The Wedge declares in the bathrooms, all genders are welcome, with shooting needles and condom dispensers available, -No Shattaf for Muslims praying wash though- but Free Palestine symbol is not allowed. As Judith Levine explained in the Gaurdian “ Trump is using antisemitism as a pretext for a war on the First Amendment,” and a way of getting rid of his enemies. The Co-Op is using the Pro-Palestinian political Symbols ban to appease the sensitivities of Kale-obsessed, Free-Range Chicken, value-free customers. Earlier, several Co-ops here in the Twin Cities kicked out the owner of a local Palestinian for racist comments posted by his 16-year-old daughter; now they are kicking the employees who show sympathy to Palestinians. The war on Palestinians is not just waged in Gaza by the Israelis, but here in the Co-Op aisles by the Wege. The Palestinians have no way to go, if they resist Occupation and Genocide; they are terrorists, if they peacefully protest, they are deported, and even their support is banned from the Wedge Co-Op; Where you may find Free-Range chicken, but you won’t find a free-Palestinian sign.
Ahmed Tharwat
Host and Producer of Arab American TV show BelAhdan
follow him on Twitter/Ahmediatv
Lives in Minnetonka, MN
