Democratic U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman on Thursday condemned a recent ballot referendum initiative in Pittsburgh that seeks to have the city entirely cut ties to Israel, while Mayor Ed Gainey walked away during an afternoon event when pressed by media to answer questions regarding the referendum.
A political firestorm has erupted around the move to get the referendum on the ballot in November. Petitions backing the measure were submitted last week to the Allegheny County Board of Elections, quickly triggering challenges by City Controller Rachael Heisler and the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh along with criticism from Jewish organizations in the region.
The referendum, if passed, would force the city — among other things — to cut ties with companies like Duquesne Light and PNC Bank and would render it unable to buy fuel for emergency vehicles or certain life-saving drugs from pharmaceutical companies.
Both of Pennsylvania’s senators voiced their condemnation on social media. “I unequivocally condemn this referendum,” Mr. Fetterman said in his post. “It’s rank antisemitism and is an affront to the region’s Jewish community.”
Mr. Casey said he “strongly” condemns the referendum, “which targets Pittsburgh’s Jewish community and Jewish organizations.” “As antisemitic incidents are on the rise across the nation, I will always stand with the Jewish community in Pittsburgh and across the Commonwealth,” his post said.
While the latest push for divestment is tied to angst over the Israel-Hamas war that began last October, the referendum’s call for divestment mirrors similar campaigns that have existed since the mid-2000s, according to information from the Anti-Defamation League.
In 2020, the U.S. Department of State released a statement labeling the “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” movement as “a manifestation of anti-Semitism.” Pennsylvania passed an anti-BDS law in 2016 that prevents the state from doing work with any business that is actively participating in any type of boycott of Israel.
Challengers to the Pittsburgh ballot referendum measure have argued that if passed, it would violate that Pennsylvania law. It would also prevent state entities like the Department of Transportation, Department of Community and Economic Development, and Department of Environmental Protection from contracting with the city.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which is financing the referendum efforts, called the challenges “deeply anti-democratic.”
“As we expected, our opposition is trying to kick us off the ballot,” the organization posted on X. “They filed two court challenges trying to disenfranchise voters by invalidating petition signatures and arguing that what we’re trying to do simply isn’t legal.”
After Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages, the Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America group said that was “the inevitable response to the conditions imposed by Israeli occupation,” and called for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. In the same statement, the group reaffirmed its commitment to divestment actions.
Sara Innamorato, a candidate for Allegheny County executive at the time, publicly condemned the group’s messaging regarding the attacks and noted that she had ended her affiliation with the group in 2019.
The mayor’s response
Mayor Gainey faced questions about his stance on the issue Thursday, in part because a number of city employees’s names appear on the list of signatures submitted in support of the referendum.
On Wednesday, Mr. Gainey’s communication’s director Maria Montano, who had been in the position since his inauguration in 2022, left her position after it was reported that she had signed the petition.
Members of Mr. Gainey’s progressive voter base — many of whom support the proposed referendum — expressed outrage on social media at Ms. Montano’s departure, many saying that city employees should be free to sign petitions supporting whatever they believed in.
Mr. Gainey walked away Thursday when media pressed him to answer questions about the situation after a East Liberty event tied to road improvements.
He subsequently issued a statement that said, “Maria's decision to resign from her position was her own and reflects her selfless desire to keep the focus of the administration on the required work and mission of creating a safe and welcoming city for all.”
The mayor’s statement added that his administration was committed to “supporting the full civil and political rights of our employees, who are free to advocate as they see fit, whether or not their views agree with my own.”
He did not touch on the content of the referendum or how it might impact the city.
His administration has not filed a challenge against the petition, but earlier this week the mayor’s office indicated that it had “serious concerns” about the measure’s enforceability.
Mr. Gainey went on in Thursday’s statement to note the “war in Gaza is a very charged topic” that many people in Pittsburgh have connections to and it has created “divisions between and within communities.”
“As mayor, my priority is the safety of every resident and the creation of unity. As such, the focus of my administration has been, and will always continue to be, the safety of the residents who live here,” the statement said.
The region’s top elected officials have been drawn into conflict tied to the Israel-Hamas war in other ways this year.
In June, Mr. Gainey and Ms. Innamorato met with pro-Palestinian protesters to urge them to disband an encampment outside the University of Pittsburgh before police arrested everyone. The protesters wanted the university to “terminate” two on-campus Jewish and Israeli student groups. A similar protest earlier in the year demanded that universities divest from Israel.
Debate in Squirrel Hill
In Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh’s predominantly Jewish neighborhood, there were mixed reactions to the referendum. A large Jewish and non-Jewish community “live in harmony here,” according to 31-year-old Shifra Chait.
Ms. Chait opposes the ballot issue, though she admitted she doesn’t follow political issues closely, but she is afraid that it could exacerbate any divisions in the neighborhood. “I think something like that could cause a huge rift," she said Thursday afternoon.
Reuven Hoch, 72, said he had a conversation in recent weeks with one of the young women gathering signatures for the referendum.
Mr. Hoch, whose parents were Holocaust survivors, believes many of those working to gather petitions don't have a full grasp of the conflict in Gaza. The attorney was blunt about the referendum: "I think it's repulsive, disgusting, and antisemitic."
But some residents offered different views on the situation. Jean Aston, 82, said she's been struggling with what is happening in Israel and Gaza for months. Years ago, she found out about her mother's family's Jewish heritage in eastern Europe.
She believes Israel’s military action in Gaza is a genocide, but understands the risks that could occur if a ceasefire happens without the right conditions. There is debate in the local Jewish community about Israel's conduct, she said.
Ms. Aston, a retired professor at Community College of Allegheny County, said she needed to read more about the ballot referendum, but added there's no simple solution to end the conflict.
Pinsker’s Books and Judaica co-owner Baila Cohen said her business, whether in her hands or others, has served the local Jewish community in some form for decades. She's heard from a lot of customers opposing the referendum, and has been thankful about the support from the local community.
She is hopeful that recent opposition from elected officials on cease-fire resolutions is an indication that they’ll also oppose the referendum getting on the ballot.
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, appearing at an abortion rights event Thursday, refused to take any questions on any topic — including the petition, which was circulated by one of her former staffers, or her recent appearance with a Palestinian minister who reportedly justified the Oct. 7 attacks.
Post-Gazette reporter Steve Bohnel contributed.
First Published: August 15, 2024, 7:25 p.m.
Updated: August 16, 2024, 5:21 p.m.