Hundreds of counterprotesters and diners outnumbered demonstrators at Sunday’s boycott ride in Rittenhouse Square. The Philadelphia boycott of Jewish-owned restaurants was meant to empty six dining rooms. Instead, supporters packed them.
What Happened at the Boycott Ride
The “Boycott Ride” was organized by Philly Bike On Your Left, which calls itself an “anti-fascist, anti-Zionist social cycling collective,” according to NBC10 Philadelphia. The group posted a flyer calling for a boycott of what it labeled “Zionist establishments.”
The ride began and ended in Rittenhouse Square, with riders weaving through city streets. NBC News reports that police formed a line to keep the two sides apart before the ride started.
By early afternoon, police said, all demonstrators had dispersed. No property damage was reported.
The Six Restaurants in the Crosshairs
The targeted spots are Mac Mart, K’Far Café, Huda, Goldie, Schlesinger’s and Dizengoff. Half of them are owned by CookNSolo, whose Israeli co-owners have publicly supported and fundraised for Israel’s military efforts. Goldie and K’Far are co-owned by Israeli-American chef Michael Solomonov, Axios Philadelphia reports. Schlesinger’s Deli is owned by former city councilmember Allan Domb, who called the boycott “unsettling.”
CookNSolo declined to comment before the ride.
Why Officials Called It Antisemitic
Mayor Cherelle Parker and Attorney General Dave Sunday condemned the ride before it started. “Singling out businesses because their owners are Jewish is unacceptable and has no place in our city,” Parker said.
Sunday called the timing, the eve of the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, “deeply unsettling,” per CNN. Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass,” was the 1938 Nazi-organized wave of violence in which Jewish-owned businesses were vandalized. The Anti-Defamation League was blunter: “That’s antisemitic, plain and simple.”
Organizers see it differently. They say they target businesses over support for Israel and were “grossly misrepresented,” CNN reports. A related campaign, Boycott CookNSolo, defended the riders on Instagram as “a small group of bicyclists against genocide who have been doxxed and villainized by social media Zionists and self-serving politicians.” That campaign predates this ride and says it protests the restaurateurs for supporting the “occupation and genocide of Palestinians.”
The Real Story: Philadelphia Showed Up
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, the ADL, the American Jewish Committee and StandWithUs urged people to eat at the targeted restaurants instead of confronting riders. It worked. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that hundreds of people patronized the businesses in a show of support.
The nonprofit JewBelong put up billboards at 14 Philadelphia locations urging people to “boycott the boycott ride.” District Attorney Larry Krasner joined officials and faith leaders at a Friday solidarity lunch for the restaurants, per the Jewish Federation. Gov. Josh Shapiro said “the City of Brotherly Love showed up to support our neighborhood businesses and prove once again that hate has no place in our Commonwealth.” For more on the governor’s political standing, see why the state Senate matters more now.
What Happens Next
Several questions remain open. Police have released no official arrest count, even though CNN video shows a person detained and NBC10 shows a photo of an arrest. Organizers haven’t said whether they plan another ride, and there’s no sign yet of a hate-crime review. The restaurants haven’t released sales figures either. Expect more statements from Jewish groups and officials around the Nov. 9 Kristallnacht anniversary.
City leaders are also juggling other fights over how Philadelphia treats its businesses, like the proposal to tax Uber Eats delivery robots. The pressure on these restaurants didn’t start Sunday, and it won’t end with a bike ride. But for one afternoon, the line at the door beat the protest outside it.
