Editorial: Conflict Kitchen will continue to dish out awareness

After four days of closure, Schenley Plaza’s Conflict Kitchen is set to re-open today. 

Conflict Kitchen is a permanent food stand that rotates a menu of food from nations with which the United States is in conflict — currently, it’s serving Palestinian food. The restaurant was forced to close last week upon receiving a death threat, according to its website. 

The closing was coupled with the recent controversy that Conflict Kitchen displayed “anti-Israeli” messages on its food wrappers, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

In response to this controversy, Conflict Kitchen clarified on its website that the wrappers “contain interviews on food, culture, the Palestinian Authority, settlements, dating, resistance olive trees, Nakba, movement and travel and food customs.” 

Conflict Kitchen has had similar wrappers along with the other foods it has served — including cuisine from Iran, North Korea and Cuba. All of these wrappers contained perspectives of the people and cultures from which these foods came — in fact, before the restaurant changes the food it is serving, the owners and employees travel to the featured areas to learn more about the food and strife within these areas.

Palestine was no different. Conflict Kitchen representatives traveled to Palestine to interview locals about their way of life and culture and then brought the Palestinian people’s perspective to Oakland to share with us. 

Yet, people in opposition to the restaurant punished it with controversy and fear-mongering. When Conflict Kitchen reopens today, it’s important to note, despite our political dispositions, just how valuable this service is and why it is such a shame that the restaurant closed in the first place.

By providing food and perspectives from nations that the United States is in conflict with, Conflict Kitchen gives us an opportunity to better understand the people from various countries. Their voices are often underrepresented within mainstream media, as the people in these countries are often overlooked by the conflicts that surround them. 

This type of exposure is essential to open discourse on a college campus. Students need these perspectives to gain a better understanding of the world. This is why roughly 200 people surrounded Conflict Kitchen Monday in a demonstration organized by Students for Justice in Palestine, a Pitt student group. 

As it reopens, let’s continue to recognize the restaurant’s value in a neighborhood that values diversity and understanding.