Tensions erupted in a Philadelphia neighborhood Sunday after a bicycle ride organized to boycott several Jewish-owned restaurants triggered fierce opposition from the city’s Jewish and pro-Israel communities.
The “boycott ride,” organized by the pro-Palestinian group Philly Bike On Your Left, targeted at least six restaurants around Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square. Organizers labeled the businesses “Zionist establishments” and called on them to leave the area.
As cyclists rode through the neighborhood carrying Palestinian flags, hundreds of Jewish and pro-Israel residents gathered to challenge the demonstration. Heated exchanges unfolded over several blocks, while dozens of diners formed lines outside the targeted restaurants to show support for the Jewish-owned businesses.
The event also drew criticism because it took place on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the 1938 Nazi pogrom against Jews in Germany and Austria. The violence included widespread attacks on Jewish homes, synagogues and businesses.
A pro-Palestinian demonstrator walks alongside cyclists during a boycott ride in Philadelphia. (WTXF)
Philadelphia police told Fox News that at least three people were arrested in connection with the protest. Those arrested included a woman accused of assault, a man accused of disorderly conduct and a 17-year-old boy accused of assaulting police.
A female counterprotester also reported being assaulted by an unidentified person.
According to the outlet, two police officers suffered minor injuries while arresting one person. Neither officer required medical attention.
Police reported no property damage and said the area had returned to normal by late afternoon.
Authorities estimated that about 500 people took part. The group included approximately 300 pro-Palestinian demonstrators, about 200 of them riding bicycles, along with roughly 200 pro-Israel counterprotesters.
Videos posted to social media captured demonstrators and counterprotesters shouting at each other.
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In one video, a restaurant displayed a Palestinian flag next to a sign on its entrance that read, “No public restroom.”
A man seen confronting the restaurant accused it of signaling that members of the Jewish community were not welcome.
Hundreds of people fill Philadelphia streets during a protest targeting Jewish-owned restaurants. (WTXF)
Organized in late October, the protest focused on six businesses whose owners were accused by organizers of being “Zionist business owners.”
“We see them for the disgusting humans they are,” the group said.
The group also claimed that some of the business owners had raised money for the Israeli military, hosted Israeli soldiers, received praise from Benjamin Netanyahu or publicly expressed support for Israel.
A counterprotester holding an Israeli flag shouts at cyclists during the Philadelphia boycott ride. (WTXF)
The demonstration led the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia to organize a counterprotest in early November.
“This is antisemitism. It is Jew-Hatred, plain and simple,” the organization said.
“The ride falls on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, November 9-10, 1938, when Nazi-organized mobs destroyed thousands of Jewish businesses, homes and synagogues in Germany and Austria, while thousands of Jews were beaten, assaulted and sent to concentration camps. The public targeting of Jewish businesses should alarm every person of conscience. We cannot allow such hatred to become normalized in Philadelphia.”
Organizers rejected that characterization, saying the ride had been “grossly misrepresented” and describing Philly Bike On Your Left as a nonviolent social cycling group.
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