Israel ballot boycott question to be withdrawn, organizers say

The effort to establish a boycott of businesses with ties to Israel in Pittsburgh’s Home Rule Charter appears to be on hold, at least for this election cycle.

Organizers of the campaign to put the boycott before city voters in November say they lack the necessary signatures, a move that came on the eve of a court hearing to assess whether the question could be placed on the ballot.

In a statement posted online, No War Crimes on Our Dime said “politicians and interest groups have invested resources to push us out of the vote” and that “their efforts … have succeeded.”

However, the statement continued: “This was never about access to the ballot, it was about a ceasefire and a Free Palestine. We refused to let Palestine fade from the local news and forced the conversation about Israel’s surrender into the public discourse in Pittsburgh and beyond.”

As of at least Sunday night, it appeared that a hearing to remove the question from the ballot would still take place, if only as a formality.

The measure could have had a major effect on the city’s operations, as the question would have asked voters if they were in favor of “prohibiting the investment or allocation of public funds, including tax exemptions, to entities conducting commercial operations with or in the State of Israel.” . until peace and human rights in Gaza were restored. (Though the measure would have required enabling legislation to take effect that might have taken the language of the question at something less than face value.)

A spokesman for the effort did not return a call Sunday night. But City Comptroller Rachael Heisler, a vocal critic of the measure who filed suit to challenge its legality, welcomed the development. “We feel very confident in our legal case.” And if the question was withdrawn or thrown out by a judge: “Either way, for us, it’s a win because I think that would have been tremendously disruptive to city operations and the health and well-being of our residents.”

Heisler’s lawsuit was one of two filed on the ballot question. Her filing challenged the substance of the ballot question, which she argued would violate state and federal laws and make it difficult, if not impossible, for the city to hire suppliers given how many firms have global operations. Another court challenge, filed by local Jewish clergy and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, echoed some of those arguments, but also challenged the legitimacy of petitions filed with the county elections department to put the question on the ballot.

For that to happen, the petition gatherers would have had to gather just under 12,500 valid signatures from registered voters in the city of Pittsburgh. But the Federation’s lawsuit claimed that while organizers submitted petitions with more than 15,000 signatures, more than two-thirds of them were deficient.

Common Pleas Court Judge John T. McVay consolidated the two court appeals into one hearing in what could have been a lengthy proceeding. Challenges to the petition can be filed because judges are often called upon to examine the merits of each challenged signature and the record as a whole. And court documents filed by the Federation indicated it may call a half-dozen witnesses, including Jewish leaders, who would testify about the impact of the ballot question on the operations and tax-exempt status of their religious communities.

That testimony now seems unlikely to take place Monday morning, but the debate surrounding it has already left its mark: Maria Montaño, Mayor Ed Gainey’s spokeswoman, resigned amid criticism that she was among several city employees who they signed the petition.

And the problem is unlikely to have been stopped. While the precise legal mechanism by which the question was pulled from the ballot was unclear Sunday night, it appears to be based solely on organizers admitting they lack the necessary petitions. That likely means McVay won’t consider the underlying arguments about whether the ballot question itself was legally valid.

In a later statement, the Pittsburgh chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America — a key supporter of the effort — said the move was “a strategic retreat and by no means a loss.” The group said it would hold a news conference and rally on Monday morning and plan future steps later in the week.

“We will not stop until Palestine is free,” he promised.