A bicycle ride organized to boycott Jewish-owned restaurants in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square neighborhood drew a massive counter-demonstration Sunday, with police reporting roughly 500 people in the streets and at least three arrests.
The event, billed as a “boycott ride,” targeted at least six restaurants that organizers labeled “Zionist establishments” and demanded leave the neighborhood. The ride was organized by the pro-Palestinian group Philly Bike On Your Left. Riders moved through the streets waving Palestinian flags while hundreds of Jewish and pro-Israel community members turned out in opposition, producing heated exchanges across several city blocks. Dozens of other residents lined up outside the targeted restaurants to show support for the businesses.
Police said about 300 people took part in the pro-Palestinian demonstration, 200 of them on bicycles, while roughly 200 pro-Israel counterprotesters turned out in response.
Philadelphia police told Fox News three people were arrested: a woman accused of assault, a man accused of disorderly conduct, and a 17-year-old accused of assaulting police. A female counterprotester reported being assaulted by an unknown individual. Two officers suffered minor injuries during one arrest but did not require medical treatment. Police said no property was damaged and the neighborhood had returned to normal by late afternoon.
Video circulating online showed demonstrators and counterprotesters shouting at one another throughout the day. In one clip, a restaurant displayed a Palestinian flag beside a sign reading “No public restroom” on its entrance; a man confronted the restaurant on camera, arguing the sign sent a message that Jewish customers were not welcome.
The ride, organized in late October, named the six businesses and accused their owners of being “Zionist business owners.” In a statement, the organizing group said: “We see them for the disgusting humans they are,” adding, “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.”
The event fell on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the November 9-10, 1938 Nazi-organized pogrom in which mobs destroyed thousands of Jewish-owned businesses, homes and synagogues across Germany and Austria while thousands of Jews were beaten, assaulted and sent to concentration camps.
The timing prompted the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia to call for a counter-demonstration. “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 of the ride disputed the criticism, saying their event had been “grossly misrepresented” and describing their group as a nonviolent social cycling organization.
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