Pro-Palestine demonstrators and Israel supporters clashed – at times, violently – during a controversial bicycle protest Sunday that called for the boycott of several Jewish-owned restaurants.
Police officers repeatedly broke up scuffles between the sides, and cyclists were forced to hop over a low stone wall within Rittenhouse Square before the planned ride even began. Outside Huda, one of the targeted businesses, pro-Israel crowds lined the sidewalks and hurled profanities at the Palestine activists, most of whom donned face masks.
PPD representatives said three people were arrested, including a 17-year-old boy accused of assaulting police. Two officers sustained minor injuries, and no property damage was reported, according to the department.
Israel supporters, clad in flags, far outnumbered the pro-Palestine cyclists. Some said they had come from New Jersey and New York to support the Jewish establishments and express their opposition to the demonstration.
News of the boycott ride made national headlines in recent days and drew condemnation from Mayor Cherelle Parker, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, Gov. Josh Shapiro and other elected leaders.
Shapiro, in a Sunday afternoon post on X, formerly Twitter, thanked law enforcement for “protecting public safety today in Philadelphia.”
“In the midst of blatant antisemitic targeting of Jewish-owned restaurants on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the City of Brotherly Love showed up to support our neighborhood businesses and prove once again that hate has no place in our Commonwealth,” added Shapiro, who is Jewish.
The protest occurred a day before the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi-organized pogrom that resulted in the destruction of Jewish-owned shops, homes, synagogues and other institutions.
Last week, a group of Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, released a statement characterizing the protest as “antisemitism” and “Jew-Hatred, plain and simple.”
“Marking businesses for removal from Philadelphia is an attempt to intimidate, marginalize and exclude members of the Jewish community from the economic and civic life of our city,” the groups continued. “No business should be targeted because of the identity, heritage or perceived political beliefs of its owners.”
In addition to Huda, the demonstration’s online flyer listed Dizengoff, K’Far Cafe, Goldie, Mac Mart and Schlesinger’s Deli. Jewish community leaders encouraged residents to patronize the eateries, and several appeared to have lines around the block Sunday.
The demonstration was set up by Philly Bike On Your Left, an Instagram account that describes itself as a “non-violent social cycling page grounded in shared values.”
Prior to the rally, the account posted a statement asserting that the boycott was not singling out Jewish businesses but going after owners “who have raised funds for the Israeli military, hosted Israeli soldiers, were praised by Benjamin Netanyahu, or expressed support for Israel.”
Organizers disputed the notion that the ride was purposely timed to coincide with Kristallnacht.
“We plan rides around people’s schedules,” the statement reads. “Palestinians need our support now. Any suggestions about the timing of our ride are simply false.”
Cyclists involved with the group have received death threats and been subject to doxxing, or the release of personal information, according to Philly Bike On Your Left.
“We should all be concerned when there is more outrage over cyclists calling for a boycott of businesses that support Israel than over the genocide that Israel is committing at this very moment,” the group added.
Philly Bike On Your Left has advertised a second event, dubbed the “ride of return,” for Sunday, Nov. 15, beginning and ending at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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