To: Bill Peduto, Mayor Of Pittsburgh and Jeff Finkelstein, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

Denounce Campaign to Suppress Palestinian Voices and Food in Pittsburgh

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We denounce the concerted efforts of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the B’nai Brith organization to silence the voice of Palestinians as recently observed in their false attacks on the Pittsburgh restaurant Conflict Kitchen. This campaign created an atmosphere that permitted the recent death threats and a temporary closing of the restaurant. We call upon the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to state clearly their opposition to violence and support the right to free speech of all including Palestinians. We further call upon Bill Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, to to express publicly his support for freedom of speech and coexistance of all communities in the city and instruct law enforcement to protect Conflict Kitchen

Why is this important?

Conflict Kitchen (http://conflictkitchen.org) is a restaurant in Pittsburgh, designed and run by artists hoping to start conversations with customers about countries in conflict with the United States. Conflict Kitchen has served food from Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. When Conflict Kitchen started serving Palestinian food, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, and B'nai Brit engaged in a campaign aimed to delegitimize Conflict Kitchen and silence expression of Palestinian perspectives. Surprisingly, media in Pittsburgh misrepresented Conflict Kitchen’s aims and activities, but the people have demonstrated strong public support — the restaurant had more than 400 patrons per day since launching its Palestinian menu earlier this fall. Probably as a result of the misleading campaign, operators of the restaurant received a death threat and decided to close temporarily (http://www.wtae.com/news/conflict-kitchen-restaurant-closes-after-threatening-letter/29621868). The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, and B'nai Brit should not dictate to the people of Pittsburgh what they hear from Palestinians or where they eat. The City should make sure that all communities in Pittsburgh can express their culture and share their experiences and food with no threat of harm.
This Petition is organized by the Middle East Peace Forum of Pittsburgh, the Jewish Voice for Peace Pittsburgh, and support from a broad coalition of local groups.