A food truck selling Israeli street food was disinvested from a Philadelphia food festival that took place on Father's Day weekend following what its organizers said was a harsh public backlash, ostensibly including violent threats.
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Food truck Moshava said on social media that its invitation to the "Taste of Home" event scheduled for Father's Day was pulled because organizers feared protests over their Israeli ties.
In a statement on Instagram, Eat Up the Borders, an NGO that purports to "promote small, family, or immigrant-owned businesses," said that "in order to provide the best experience to all, we decided to remove one of our food vendors from Sunday's event.
"This decision came from listening to the concerns of [a] community that we love and serve. Our intent is never to cause any harm. We're sorry, and we realize being more educated is the first step in preventing that from happening again."
In a statement posted to its social media accounts, Moshava Philly's owners said that they were "deeply saddened" by the decision, saying that "fear, violence, and intimidation got the best of them."
"The organizers of the event heard rumors of a protest happening because of us being there and decided to uninvite us from fear that the protesters would get aggressive and threaten their event," they wrote.
Moshava further expressed hope that in the future, the organizers hold true to their words of a safe environment "for all religions and nationalities – not just all of them except Israeli and Jewish ones."
THREAD:@JFedinPhilly, @phillyjcrc and @ADL are deeply disturbed that the #Israeli cuisine food truck Moshava was removed from the A Taste of Home event organized by Eat Up the Borders at Sunflower Philly today.
1/5
— ADL Philadelphia (@ADLPhiladelphia) June 20, 2021
The Anti-Defamation League stated that it was "deeply disturbed" by the incident, as were the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Philadelphia.
"We have spoken with the event organizers and expressed that we unequivocally disagree with their decision," the ADL's tweet reads. "We do understand that threats to the organizers were made, and we understand the fear and confusion that comes when your community faces that intimidation.
"However, the decision to bow to this antisemitic intimidation by disinviting Moshava was wrong. In the next few days, we will be meeting with the organizers to discuss what happened, provide education on antisemitism and share communal security resources."
Social media users raged over the decision, propmting Eat Up the Borders to make its social media accounts private, following the backlash.
Pennsylvania Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02) also chimed in, expressing his shock over the decision to exclude the Israeli vendor from the event.
"I am stunned and saddened at the decision of the organizers of 'A Taste of Home' to disinvite Moshava, an Israeli food company, from participating in this year's event in my congressional district. This decision represents surrendering to the threats of bigots," he said in a statement posted on his website.
"That Moshava should be excluded from what is supposed to be an event showcasing food offerings from all around the world, solely due to their being an Israeli food vendor, is completely unacceptable. Given the disturbing rise in acts of antisemitism across our region and country, this decision by the organizers is only helping to embolden those who would use threats of protest or even violence to prevent any people, businesses and entire communities from living and operating freely without fear.
"If the explanation of the organizers that Moshava's invitation was revoked due to the threat of protests and violence is true, then I believe such threats should be investigated by law enforcement, as no person or organization should be coerced or threatened by the prospect of intimidation or violence.
"I urge the organizers of this community event to stand up for Moshava and the right of businesses to operate freely, and to reverse its decision," he said.
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