First they came for the shakshuka, and I did not speak out, because I did not eat shakshuka...
This is the hecklers veto writ large. Threats of protests against a small Israeli vendor got them kicked out.
"Eat Up The Borders" made an attempt to sanitize the action but fell a tiny bit short.
"Our mission at EUTB is to uplift as many passionate small businesses in the Philadelphia area as possible."
"As possible."
In order to best serve our guests, we decided to remove one of our vendors for Sunday's event so that we could deliver an optimal experience to all.
Well, not all. Everyone who isn't Jewish. Definitely an optimal experience for them. Well, Jewish people can still come, I guess, just don't be obvious, okay? We don't want any trouble with the guests for whom we want to provide an optimal experience.
This decision came from listening to the community we wish to serve and love.
That community being conspicuously absent of Jewish people it would appear.
How is this being covered in the national media?
It isn't.
I checked The New York Times, MSNBC, CNN, CBS, ABC, and The Washington Post. Nothing on the home pages, and nothing turned up using a variety of search terms.
What did The Washington Post feature on its front page Sunday in lieu of a story about yet another overt antisemitic act taking place on United States soil?
A piece about the struggles French Muslim women experience wearing the hijab.
In fairness, the writers for The Washington Post probably aren't sure where Philadelphia is exactly. Maybe Pennsylvania or New Jersey or something? One of those exits.
We can tell The New York Times knows where Philadelphia is because they ran a story a few days about about the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center merging.
Look, there's only so much space, you have to pick the really important stories.
The reaction on social media, in contrast, was withering.
The local Philadelphia paper did cover the story at least, reporting that organizers eventually threw in the towel and cancelled the entire event.
The group's director admitted to making mistakes, 6ABC reported Sunday evening.
"Our mistake this time, with not only our event partners, but in general was not educating ourselves. And not properly making sure that everyone is properly represented. So that's where we made the decision to cancel the event," Melvin Powell, the executive director of Sunflower Philly, told 6ABC.
According to NBC10, Powell said that at previous events, food trucks from both Israeli and Palestinian proprietors were present, and that an agreement had been made in the past that one truck would not be present without the other.
Take a step back a moment:
In order to hold a food fair in the United States of America, it has to be organized as delicately as a Vietnam peace conference.
A food fair.
Powell said the Palestinian truck couldn't attend, according to NBC10. "The fact that we couldn't accurately represent both of them is the reason why we canceled the event today," Powell said.
Which doesn't exactly square with their initial statement or with this, in the same article.
An organizer responded to the criticism, saying that they were looking forward to having Moshava Philly participating in the event and that they never detracted from the event but the amount of hate they got from it was "more than" they "thought was possible."The organizer added that the uproar and "legitimate threats" forced their hand, saying there was a serious "safety risk."
So which was it? There wasn't a Palestinian food truck available, or there were threats? If there were both, just say that.
While this isn't exactly Kristallnacht or anything, Kristallnacht didn't happen in a vacuum. A whole lot came before it. Make of it what you will, but the fact that a food festival, a charity event at that, had to be cancelled because an Israeli food truck was going to be present is certainly not a step away from it.
