Anti-Israel activists in Philadelphia have organized a protest demanding that Jewish-owned businesses leave the city, with the demonstration scheduled for the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the 1938 Nazi pogrom against Jews in Germany.
The group Philly Bike On Your Left, along with two other activist organizations, is targeting Jewish-owned establishments in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. Businesses including Mac Mart, K’Far Cafe, Huda Burger, Goldie, Dizengoff, and Schlesinger’s are reportedly among those being targeted.
Marti Lieberman, co-owner of Mac Mart, expressed shock and fear, stating, "It’s scary. You can’t get a break, and now I have to worry about being born Jewish." She noted that her business has no connection to Israel or Judaism and believes she is being targeted because she wears a Star of David necklace.
Promotional materials for the protest, shared on Instagram, used inflammatory language, calling for "No business for zionists! These zionist establishments must go! Not in our city!" Organizers described the boycott as a means to "show these zio business owners that we see them for the disgusting humans they are."
Yehuda Sichel, co-founder of Huda Burger and grandson of Holocaust survivors, condemned the timing of the protest, calling it "especially hurtful." He stated, "As a Jewish business owner and grandson of Holocaust survivors, boycotts of Jewish businesses are very familiar to me, and not in a good way especially on the eve of Kristallnacht."
Kristallnacht, meaning "crystal night," refers to the Nov. 9-10, 1938, attacks that resulted in the destruction of Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues, and the murder of at least 91 Jews. The anniversary was chosen for this demonstration against businesses owned by Jewish people.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday denounced the boycott as "deeply unsettling" and a form of discrimination rooted in antisemitic tropes. "By explicitly targeting businesses because their owners are Jewish, the organizers are engaging in a form of discrimination that falls back on some of the oldest antisemitic tropes and tactics in history," Sunday said in a statement. "This is not simply a protest directed at the policies of Israel, rather it singles out our fellow Pennsylvanians based on their Jewish identity, targeting them for policies they have nothing to do with and no ability to affect because of their faith."
Various Jewish organizations in Philadelphia, including the Anti-Defamation League Philadelphia and StandWithUs, also condemned the action, labeling it "Jew-hatred, plain and simple." They stated that marking businesses for removal from the city is an attempt to intimidate and exclude the Jewish community from civic and economic life.