On November 8th, the day before Kristallnacht, several anti-Israel groups staged a protest promoting a boycott of local Jewish and Israeli-owned restaurants, intending to drive “Zionists businesses” out of Philadelphia. Notably, about half of the restaurants targeted are owned by American Jews who are not citizens of Israel.
The event was notable for two reasons: firstly, the local DSA chapter backed the event unequivocally, denouncing antisemitism while ignoring how the organizers of the event had incorporated the ethnic slur “Zios” in their initial announcement. Second, unlike the scenes endemic to so many campus protests over the last three years in which counterprotesters were usually numerical footnotes in relation to their anti-Israel counterparts, the local Jewish community effectively organized a sizable response; separated by a robust police cordon, 200 pro-Israel and pro-Jewish counterprotesters arrived to challenge the 300 masked anti-Israel and antisemitic protesters. Meanwhile, the targeted Jewish restaurants struggled to serve their clientele that day because of the long lines of patrons engaged in a counter-boycott.
The event showcased the extent to which some antizionist organizations target American Jews, blaming them for the actions of Israel, in what is defined as antisemitic under the IHRA definition. Moreover, it demonstrated that these organizations are successful in forming coalitions with other groups otherwise committed to multiculturalism, but that are willing to engage in anti-Jewish discrimination.
However, there are also reasons to be hopeful. The local Jewish community’s response was robust and effective. Moreover, despite antizionism’s growing salience within public discourse and political life, mainstream Democratic politicians did not hesitate to condemn the event. Philadelphia’s mayor, along with the state attorney general and governor of Pennsylvania, all denounced the boycott as a flagrant act of antisemitism, in what can be viewed as an ongoing commitment by most officeholders – Democrat and republican – to protect Jewish citizens.
On November 8th, the day before Kristallnacht, several anti-Israel groups staged a protest promoting a boycott of local Jewish and Israeli-owned restaurants, intending to drive “Zionists businesses” out of Philadelphia. Notably, about half of the restaurants targeted are owned by American Jews who are not citizens of Israel.
The event was notable for two reasons: firstly, the local DSA chapter backed the event unequivocally, denouncing antisemitism while ignoring how the organizers of the event had incorporated the ethnic slur “Zios” in their initial announcement. Second, unlike the scenes endemic to so many campus protests over the last three years in which counterprotesters were usually numerical footnotes in relation to their anti-Israel counterparts, the local Jewish community effectively organized a sizable response; separated by a robust police cordon, 200 pro-Israel and pro-Jewish counterprotesters arrived to challenge the 300 masked anti-Israel and antisemitic protesters. Meanwhile, the targeted Jewish restaurants struggled to serve their clientele that day because of the long lines of patrons engaged in a counter-boycott.
The event showcased the extent to which some antizionist organizations target American Jews, blaming them for the actions of Israel, in what is defined as antisemitic under the IHRA definition. Moreover, it demonstrated that these organizations are successful in forming coalitions with other groups otherwise committed to multiculturalism, but that are willing to engage in anti-Jewish discrimination.
However, there are also reasons to be hopeful. The local Jewish community’s response was robust and effective. Moreover, despite antizionism’s growing salience within public discourse and political life, mainstream Democratic politicians did not hesitate to condemn the event. Philadelphia’s mayor, along with the state attorney general and governor of Pennsylvania, all denounced the boycott as a flagrant act of antisemitism, in what can be viewed as an ongoing commitment by most officeholders – Democrat and republican – to protect Jewish citizens.