Philadelphia counterprotesters overwhelm boycott of Jewish-owned restaurants on Kristallnacht anniversary
The boycott, held on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, was condemned as antisemitic by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as crowds rallied in support of Jewish-owned businesses.
A massive crowd of counterprotesters turned out on Sunday to demonstrate against a planned bike boycott of Jewish American restaurants in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse neighborhood.
The massive turnout of counterdemonstrators led to the bike boycott being canceled soon after it began, with lines outside most of the targeted businesses.
The boycott was dubbed 'Philly's Kristallnacht' by counter demonstrators as it occurred on the anniversary of Kristallnacht.
The boycotters had claimed that their protest was anti-Zionist; however, business owners said that their businesses had nothing to do with Israel and that they had been targeted for being Jewish.
The boycott's organizers said that the event had been "grossly misrepresented."
Videos from the event showed counter demonstrators challenging boycotters to justify themselves.
One counter demonstrator told the New York Post that he came from New York to show Philly's Jewish community that they were not alone. He also mocked the small turnout of boycotters.
The boycott was condemned as antisemitic by both Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and the Anti-Defamation League.
"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," Shapiro said.