Today, 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.”

“The proposed referendum is not only illegal but also a dangerous and insidious attempt to target local entities connected to the State of Israel,” said Jeff Finkelstein, President & CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

“This measure will do nothing to impact policy in the Middle East, but it will impose an unreasonable burden on our city and its Jewish institutions, synagogues and other houses of worship.”

~Jeff Finkelstein, President & CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

The Jewish Federation has partnered with a coalition of community organizations and over one hundred volunteers to review the validity of the petition signatures submitted in support of the referendum. The Federation believes that not only does the referendum fail to meet the necessary threshold of valid signatures, but it is also in direct conflict with existing state law.

This legal action comes on the heels of recent antisemitic vandalism targeting the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the Chabad of Squirrel Hill.

“This referendum is yet another attempt to target Jewish spaces in our city, not through graffiti, but through the misuse of Pittsburgh’s legal framework.”

~Jan Levinson, Chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

The Jewish Federation views this initiative as a direct threat to the operations, well-being and security of Jewish institutions and synagogues across Pittsburgh. The Federation is committed to defending the community against this attack and ensuring that Pittsburgh remains a place where all can live and worship in peace and security.