Did You Hear?

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and our co-plaintiffs, individual rabbis and clergy from area synagogues, along with our organizational partner StandWithUs are pleased The Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has withdrawn their attempt to qualify their “No War Crimes on Our Dime” referendum for the November ballot.

This week, the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh, and a coalition of four local rabbis filed a legal challenge to a petition filed last week seeking to place a question on the upcoming ballot to amend the Pittsburgh City Home Rule Charter in response to a recently submitted petition for a referendum on the Pittsburgh City ballot.

The proposed referendum seeks to determine whether the city should engage in a boycott of Israel and prohibit investments and public funds from being allocated to “entities that conduct business operations with or in the state of Israel unless and until Israel ends its military action in Gaza.

We are working closely with our university public safety departments as we anticipate anti-Israel protests with the return of students to local college campuses.

On Monday, Chabad of Squirrel Hill, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and two Squirrel Hill residences were targeted with threatening antisemitic graffiti. Local, state and federal law enforcement are actively investigating. Please know that there are no known threats of violence at this time.

Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh would like to thank Mayor Ed Gainey, City Controller Rachael Heisler and City Council for their unwavering support of the Jewish community and their condemnation of vandalism as a form of protest.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is angered and disgusted by the acts of antisemitic graffiti and vandalism on our office building, Chabad of Squirrel Hill and at several Jewish homes this morning.

On Tuesday, July 23, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) security grant opened offering a possibility of $10M in grants to secure houses of worship and nonprofits that are vulnerable to hate crimes and terrorist attacks.

As we approach back to school, student safety is paramount. Please consider joining our free Countering Active Threat and Defensive Tactics Training on Thursday, July 25 from 6-9 PM at the JCC in Squirrel Hill led by Dave Wright from Wright’s Gym. This event is geared towards college and/or high school students but is open to all.