Editorial: Should Pittsburgh voters decide to cut business ties with Israel?

The United States is a representative government rather than a direct democracy.

Usually.

There are times when we take the issues directly to the people rather than placing them in front of elected officials. It is called a referendum. Instead of picking the people who will make the decisions, we take the question and put it before the people. Should we do this? Yes or no.

The Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America are asking the city of Pittsburgh for such a referendum. The issue? Cease all business with Israel to pressure that government into a cease-fire in the war with Gaza.

It is not the first time the contentious topic of Israel versus Hamas has been raised in Southwestern Pennsylvania. In March, Allegheny County Council voted against a resolution calling for a cease-fire. The University of Pittsburgh was one of the colleges facing passionate protests and encampments at the end of the 2023-24 school year.

But this time, the idea is to take the issue directly to the voters.

“At a time when so many of us are struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table, billions of our U.S. taxpayer dollars are being used to fund Israel’s war crimes,” the Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists say on their website.

The war has been ongoing since the Oct. 7 rocket attacks by Hamas on Israel, reports of sexual violence and the capture of hundreds of hostages. It was followed by retaliatory strikes by Israel, blockades and shuttered borders, famine and expansion of violence involving Hezbollah and Iran.

In the U.S., there has been vocal advocacy for both sides. There also has been concern about violence, including antisemitism.

The Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh is calling the proposed referendum antisemitic as it seeks to prohibit business with Israel. There’s also a question as to its legality, as it seems to be at odds with the 2016 state Prohibited Contracts Act. The city controller’s office calls it disruptive and a “massive risk.”

The idea of drawing a line in the sand around one country with close ties to the U.S. is a complicated question that experts would have trouble dissecting.

Would it require a deep dive on every purchase the city made? How many degrees of separation would constitute “doing business” with Israel? Would Israeli individuals be prohibited from taking jobs with contractors — or with the city for that matter?

And do the voters know enough about this complex issue and its tangled knot of implications to make this decision?

On Monday, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John T. McVay Jr. will hear arguments on it.

He will hear both sides and review the law before he renders a decision. No matter how long he takes, it will be longer than the few minutes a voter would give the issue after reading the question on a ballot.

Some issues should be given to the voters because they affect them so closely and so deeply. Others shouldn’t — not because they are less important but because they may be so important that they need more nuanced appreciation than the average voter half a world away can afford.