On Sunday, The New York Post posted an article about a protest in Philadelphia over the weekend. The protest was put on by a group called Philly Bike on Your Left. The group calling itself an “anti-fascist, anti-Zionist social cycling collective,” organized a boycott targeting several restaurants in Philadelphia that were owned by Jews.
The article reports:
Protests of Jewish-owned businesses in Philadelphia by dozens of masked bikers on the eve of the Kristallnacht anniversary were drowned out by a massive crowd of heckling counter-protesters on Sunday.
The boycott, which targeted restaurants run by Jewish Americans in Philly’s ritzy Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, came face-to-face with a large counterprotest aimed at supporting the businesses.
However, the protest was forced to shut down early, with organizers claiming “safety concerns.”
Lines at the Jewish-owned businesses stretched out the door as supporters publicly come out to back them.
Social media posts for the protest demanded that the businesses leave the city.
“Show these zio business owners that we see them for the disgusting humans they are,” one post said.
Despite the claim that the protest was “anti-Zionist,” one business owner said her mac and cheese shop had nothing to do with Israel, and believes she was targeted because she wears a Star of David.
The protest Sunday came on the eve of the anniversary for the 1938 Nazi night of terror in Germany and Austria, where Jewish-owned businesses and neighborhoods were sacked. At least 91 Jews were murdered and others rounded up for concentration camps.
The article concludes:
Both the Pennsylvania Attorney’s General’s Office and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker condemned the boycott as an antisemitic act that has no place in the city.
The big turnout in support of the businesses came after the Anti-Defamation League made a call for people to patronize the targeted restaurants during Sunday’s boycott.
“This protest is an attempt to intimidate a Jewish community that has faced generations of violence, exclusion and antisemitism,” the ADL said in a statement. “It’s the latest in a string of incidents that hold Jewish businesses responsible for events in the Middle East.”
“That’s antisemitic, plain and simple. But we refuse to let hate win,” the ADL added.
It is encouraging the the Pennsylvania Attorney General Office and the Philadelphia Mayor condemned the boycott, but it is disturbing that the boycott happened. This is blatant antisemitism, and I would love to know who is encouraging it.