Pittsburgh may be known for its steel mill past and its high-tech present, but is now emerging as the seat of a lively debate concerning Palestinian food, free speech, and criticism of Israeli policies.
The Conflict Kitchen is a take-out eatery that only serves food from countries with which the United States is in conflict. The restaurant began serving Palestinian food on October 6. On November 8, restaurant co-director Jon Rubin received a letter containing a death threat. As a result, Mr. Rubin temporarily closed the Conflict Kitchen.
2 comments:
This kind of stuff really annoys me. People are so close minded and they're just looking to start a fight. The reason there was no pro-Israeli theme at Conflict Kitchen is because the USA is not in conflict with Israel. The whole point of the take-out place is to raise awareness of situations and point-of-views that we in the USA are clueless about because we are shielded by the media etc. Just because on the wrapper, some of the interviews weren't pro-Israeli policy doesn't mean Conflict Kitchen is anti-Israel and it doesn't mean that they are trying to brainwash everyone to be anti-Israel. If they were to interview people in Israel, there would probably be statements that don't support Palestinian policies. All of this is because we take things very personally that we shouldn't. I think we should be aware of what is going on on both sides of a story. Most conflicts arise from ignorance. Just because they are Palestinian, doesn't mean their voices shouldn't be heard. This goes for everyone. No matter who you are, you're voice should be heard because who are we to judge anything if we don't know all sides? I can't believe someone would receive a death threat for wanting to help people have their voices heard. We are all so trapped in our own thoughts that we create our own hate. Everything has a reason but if you're not willing to listen then you should keep your mouth shut and sit down.
Conflict Kitchen is an important thing to have in Pittsburgh. Their mission is admirable and I believe extremely effective. It's horrible and sad that there are extremists who are unable to see past the governmental controversy and realize that Conflict Kitchen exists in order to get to the heart of a culture. Their mission humanizes the country by revealing the truth about its people and their everyday lives, loves, and struggles rather than generalizing their government to represent the entire population. I am glad to know that Conflict Kitchen has re-opened (I went there for dinner today!) and I hope that the controversy has served to open people's eyes.
Post a Comment