Philadelphia: Boycott of Jewish Businesses Draws Intense Backlash

A bike riding club organized a boycott of Jewish-owned businesses in Philadelphia on Sunday that drew intense backlash from counterprotesters.

Organized by Philly Bike on Your Left, which identifies itself as an “anti-fascist, anti-Zionist social cycling collective,” the boycott aimed to target several Jewish-owned restaurants in Philadelphia in opposition to Israel. Tensions escalated throughout the day when counterprotesters arrived, per NBC News:

A line of Philadelphia police officers worked to keep the groups separated as tensions continued to build before the bike ride had even begun. Three people were arrested Sunday, according to a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department, as approximately 300 pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with roughly 200 pro-Israeli counter-protesters. The arrests included a woman on an assault charge, a man on a disorderly conduct charge and a 17-year-old on an assault on police charge, according to the spokesperson.

The boycott also completely backfired, with reports of long lines of customers outside the restaurants, including Mac Mart, K’Far Café, Huda, Goldie, Schlesinger’s, and Dizengoff.

When advertising the boycotts, Philly Bike on Your Left identified the businesses as “Zionist establishments” while calling on people to join them in Rittenhouse Square.

At least some of the targeted businesses are owned by the Philadelphia restaurant group CookNSolo, with reported Israeli co-owners who “have publicly supported and fundraised for Israel.”

“We stand with the organizers of the Boycott Ride, a small group of bicyclists against genocide who have been doxxed and villainized by social media Zionists and self-serving politicians,” Boycott CookNSolo wrote in an Instagram post this weekend.

The boycott overwhelmingly failed, and the Anti-Defamation League encouraged people to show up in droves in support of the restaurants.

“This protest is an attempt to intimidate a Jewish community that has faced generations of violence, exclusion and antisemitism. It’s the latest in a string of incidents that hold Jewish businesses responsible for events in the Middle East,” the ADL wrote. “That’s antisemitic, plain and simple. But we refuse to let hate win.”

Michael Balaban, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, told CNN affiliate WPVI that businesses were targeted strictly for being Jewish-owned.

“When people come to attack the Jewish community, we want to meet those attacks tenfold, a hundredfold with people,” Balaban said. “Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love, and we want to make sure it stays that way and get the haters out of here … Don’t protest us because we’re Jewish.”

CNN also noted that the protest “fell the day before the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht or the ‘Night of Broken Glass.'”

“Kristallnacht was a Nazi-organized riot in which synagogues were burned, Jewish-owned businesses and homes were vandalized, and Jews were assaulted, killed and imprisoned in concentration camps in Nazi Germany,” it added.

Philly Bike On Your Left said that the date was a coincidence.

“We stand firmly against racism and oppression of all forms, including fascism, antisemitism, islamophobia and colonialism,” it said on Instagram.

“There are business owners in our community who have raised funds for the Israeli military, hosted Israeli soldiers, were praised by Benjamin Netanyahu, or expressed support for Israel,” it added. “How we spend our money is a reflection of our values.”

Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro also decried the boycott.

“Hate and antisemitism have no place in our Commonwealth,” Shapiro wrote on X. “And I’m grateful to state and local law enforcement who will work to make sure our neighborhoods remain safe this weekend.”