My battle to buy pierogi might end up in court

I have been going to the farmers market in Martha’s Vineyard for nearly half a century. I buy corn, tomatoes and homemade products. Until last week every vendor at the market treated me with respect and loved to have my business. I spent about $100,000 on farm and home products over the years, so I was shocked when one vendor refused to sell me their pierogi.

It turns out that this particular vendor, Krem Miskevich, doesn’t approve of Zionism – that is support for Israel’s right to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people. To be a Zionist does not require agreement with Israel’s policies or actions – just its right to be. I strongly believe in Zionism. It is an essential aspect of my religion. Jewish prayer, going back thousands of years, asks God to help the Jewish people return to Zion, which is Israel. The Jewish bible and prayer book is filled with references to God’s decision to give the holy land to the Jewish people. Indeed, the bible warns that those who curse Israel shall be cursed. Israel is at least as central to Judaism as the Vatican is to Catholicism, as Mecca is to Islam and as Salt Lake City is to Mormonism.

Jerusalem is mentioned in Jewish religious sources thousands of times. (Not in the Quran.) The very flag of Israel is based on the Jewish prayer shawl: The tallit. Its most basic symbols – the star of David and the menorah – are deeply religious in nature. To deny the religious connection between Zionism and Judaism is itself an act of anti-semitism, as well as ignorance. So it is difficult to separate the religious, nationalistic and political aspects of Zionism and Judaism. Not all Jews are Zionists, but not all Jews keep kosher or obey the Sabbath. That doesn’t mean that keeping kosher isn’t an important aspect of Judaism. So is Zionism. If a vendor refused to sell to all people who keep kosher, that would be unlawful, even though many Jews don’t.

Accordingly, when Krem Miskevich refused to sell his pierogi to Zionists, they were engaged to a significant degree in religious discrimination, since most Jews are Zionists. To date I’m aware of no court that has ruled on whether Zionists who base their Zionism on the Jewish religion, are a protected class under the Constitution. That issue may be tested in court based on the vendor’s refusal to serve me. If they had refused to serve a customer because he was black or gay or Israeli or a Jew that would be expressly prohibited by Massachusetts law, as well as the law in many other states.

This case is different from the supreme court case involving the baker who refused to design a cake for the marriage of a gay couple. Designing the cake involved artistic input and was therefore protected by the First Amendment. Selling already made pierogi, that was sitting on the counter, is not protected speech. It is like refusing to rent to somebody based on race, religion and other invidious factors. It is also wrong as a matter of morality: vendors who hold themselves out as selling to the public should not discriminate on the basis of political or religious views. If they were to, there would have to be two pierogi stands at the farmers market – one that sells to non-Zionists only; and one that sells to Zionists as well.

After Miskevich’s refusal to sell me their pierogi was made public, a number of people called to advise me that Miskevich has engaged in antisemitic in addition to anti-Zionist protests. They are among the leaders of an organization on the vineyard that not only supports Hamas, but also protests Jewish cultural events that emphasize Jewish music, food, art and other aspects of Judaism that have nothing to do with Zionism. In other words, Krem Miskevich is strikingly similar to the infamous “Soup Nazi” on the Seinfeld show. “No pierogi for you” because you’re a Jew who supports Israel.

They claim that their refusal to serve me is based on who I have represented as a lawyer. That, of course, is the essence of McCarthyism. In other words, their defense against accusations of anti Zionism is McCarthyism. I don’t know which is worse!

Many residents of Martha’s Vineyard have shown their support for my fight against bigotry, but a considerable number support the bigot. Not surprisingly, his refusal to sell to me increased his pierogi sales at the farmers market. There is a very strong anti-Israel component on Martha’s Vineyard, as there is a strong element of hard-left radicalism. So I don’t know whether the farmers market will adopt the rule I’ve asked them to adopt: namely that in order to be a vendor at the farmers market one has to be willing to sell to everybody. I hope they will do that, but if not, this case may end up in the judicial system, which will have to decide whether Zionists are included in the class of people against whom discrimination is prohibited. Based on the close connection between Zionism and Judaism, they should be.