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2025-01-12 Fifth Column
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Anti-Israel activists renew BDS referendum effort in Pittsburgh after first one fails
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 [IsraelTimes] Not On Our Dime pushes referendum that would require Pittsburgh to divest from Israel, companies related to Israel, which officials say could be deeply challenging for city
Activists wanting Pittsburgh to divest from Israel are determined to force their will on the city, despite losing one battle in court last year.
Not On Our Dime, a "volunteer-led campaign made up of a coalition of Pittsburghers," according to its website, is attempting to gather more than 12,500 signatures before February 18, hoping to force a referendum onto May’s primary ballot which would mandate changes to Pittsburgh’s Home Rule Charter. If successful, the referendum would compel the city to cease doing business with what it refers to as "governments engaged in morally reprehensible behavior — such as Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Paleostinian civilians in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response ...
and apartheid policies in Occupied Paleostinian Territories."
It goes on to claim that Israel’s actions are in "stark misalignment with the values of Pittsburgh residents," demands the city cease engaging with "corporations and entities developing tools and technologies used in acts of state violence against civilians," and alleges that these tools could be used by the city against its residents.
The organization’s website lists Project for Responsive Democracy as its fiscal sponsor. Project for Responsive Democracy is a 501(c)(4) organization created in September 2024. It lists Adeline Lord as its founder.
Lord is a Democratic operative who previously served as a part-time aide in the District 5 office of City Councilmember Barb Warwick and as the vice chair of the city’s 15th ward, comprised of Hazelwood, Glen Hazel, Glenwood, Greenfield and a small portion of Squirrel Hill.
At its heart, Warwick said, the referendum is about trying to take action in a world where "our leaders seem unable or unwilling to put a stop to all this terrible suffering."
Still, she said, out of deference to her Jewish constituents, she won’t be signing the petition.
So thoughtful. The referendum is being promoted online by the Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America.
Of course. The referendum initiative is also endorsed and promoted by Pitt Divest from Apartheid, Students for Justice in Paleostine at the University of Pittsburgh and Jewish Voice for Peace Pittsburgh, organizations that support the BDS movement, have expressed support for last year’s encampments at Pitt and called for an unconditional ceasefire by Israel following Hamas
 ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
’s terrorist attack on October 7, 2023.
Not On Our Dime’s attempts to have a similar referendum added to the November 2023 ballot were thwarted after its petition signatures were challenged in court by the city controller’s office and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. The organization withdrew the initiative rather than face a judge’s decision over the matter.
Now the group is focused on training petitioners on the requirements of valid signatures and how to counter questions and challenges by citizens.
Julie Paris, StandWithUs’ Mid-Atlantic regional director, said she is concerned about the spread of misinformation by Not On Our Dime, including its claim that Israel is an apartheid state committing genocide and participating in ethnic cleansing. The referendum, she said, would potentially deprive Pittsburgh of global technology and innovation developed by Israel, including medical and scientific research. Divesting from Israel, Paris said, is nearly impossible and would inflict irreparable damage; she noted that Pennsylvania exported more than $263 million of manufacturing goods to Israel in the last year. Since 1996, the total has been $5.4 billion, making Israel Pennsylvania’s 31st leading trading partner.
StandWithUs, Paris said, is committed to working with partners like the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to challenge the referendum.
Jeremy Kazzaz, executive director of the Beacon Coalition — a Pittsburgh-based advocacy and education group focused on combatting antisemitism in the American political landscape — said that the new divestment initiative goes beyond responding to Israel’s war with Hamas.
It’s "really leaning into the tropes of the boycott, divest and sanctions movement," he said, "making it clear that it has nothing to do with the current conflict."
The referendum, he said, would create additional duties for the city controller and other city offices.
"It’s unclear where the funding for that comes from," he said. "How much is this ultimately going to cost taxpayers and the city government if it were to be implemented and how far back will it set the city?"
The attempts to change the city’s Home Rule Charter, Kazzaz noted, are part of the same anti-Israel activism that has been occurring since October 7, 2023.
"I think some of these groups feel like they have the wind at their back because people show up at their events," he said. "I don’t think they really look electorally to understand the vast majority of people in this country want a functioning local government focused on local issues, a growing economy and safe communities."
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, who did not contest the first referendum’s petition, said in a prepared statement that he received the text of the new referendum on Monday and is in the initial stages of reviewing it. The mayor said he knows there are concerns in the Jewish community and he will continue to hear those concerns. Gainey said his office could not comment on whether he would challenge the petition until he had a chance to review it but said if its language is similar to the previous proposal’s, he would have concerns "about the restrictions it would impose on the city’s ability to perform even the most basic functions since many of the companies we do business with are global companies that conduct business in Israel. Without question, we would have to take steps to protect against massive disruptions to core city services."
If he reviews long enough, perhaps the referendum will go away without him having to take polarizing action, sure to annoy someone. Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor, who is challenging Gainey for mayor in the May primary, said in an email that he opposes the proposed referendum because it would "severely limit Pittsburgh from providing the best and most cost-effective services for your city."
"For example, last year, in response to a similar proposed referendum, the Pittsburgh Firefighters noted that the primary vendor for our fire safety equipment is a local company which would have been barred from doing business with the City. This referendum goes even further and, if passed, will cost Pittsburgh taxpayers, both in having to pay higher costs and limiting the available source of products," he said.
O’Connor criticized Gainey’s response to last year’s attempt to get the referendum on the ballot, accusing the mayor of failing "to take a strong stance."
City Controller Rachael Heisler, whose office successfully challenged the first referendum in court, said in an email that her office is committed to safeguarding the city’s financial health and "is continuing to assess the potential fiscal impact of this referendum."
"We welcome collaboration with City leaders to carefully evaluate the broad language used in the proposal and to ensure we collectively understand its scope and potential effects on Pittsburgh’s residents and operations. While we remain focused on assessing its implications, we acknowledge the complexity of the issue and are committed to transparency in addressing any concerns or unintended consequences it may present."
District 8 City Councilmember Erika Strassburger is also concerned about the referendum’s effect on the city’s ability to operate.
"It would eliminate the city’s ability to do business with several huge companies," she said, "particularly in the tech sector."
Strassburger is also concerned that the referendum might violate state or federal law. Since 2016, Pennsylvania has had a law on its books preventing the state from contracting with businesses or entities that participate in the BDS campaign against Israel. If the referendum succeeds, that law might prevent the state from doing business with Pittsburgh.
Jeff Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said his organization will once again defeat the attempts to add a referendum to the ballot.
"Pittsburgh citizens don’t want their city entangled in unproductive efforts to discriminate against the citizens of Israel and their supporters," he said.
The referendum, Finkelstein continued, makes "outrageous and false claims of genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid." He urged city residents to reject the initiative and to continue to foster a community built on mutual respect, collaboration and shared prosperity.
The Chronicle reached out to Not On Our Dime for an interview. The organization replied that no one was available to speak with the Chronicle, but said in an email that Jewish Americans, including Jewish organizers and supporters of the campaign, "hold the Netanyahu regime’s endless war in contempt."
Other Jewish Americans, including those opposed to this campaign, admire Bibi immensely and are grateful he is there to hold the line until Israel wins all the battlefronts of the current war. "We want our city to live up to basic moral standards, and that means not sending our tax dollars to fund war crimes," the email said. It did not mention the hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas forces of Evil or explain whose moral standard the group wants the city to live up to.
The Chronicle reached out to city councilmembers Bobby Wilson, Theresa Kail-Smith, Bob Charland, Anthony Coghill, R. Daniel Lavelle and Deb Gross but did not receive a response before going to press. 
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Posted by trailing wife 2025-01-12 2025-01-12 00:17||
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