Jewish Businesses Targeted in Dem Midterm Celebrations

Protester holding a large sign at a rally — Photo: AndriiKoval / Shutterstock

Activists in Philadelphia planned a bike rally to shut down Jewish-owned restaurants, and they scheduled it one night before the anniversary of Kristallnacht.

Quick Take

Philly Bike On Your Left organized a “Boycott Ride” for November 8, 2026, starting at Rittenhouse Square.
A flyer named specific restaurants, including Dizengoff, Goldie, K’Far Cafe, Huda, Schlessinger’s Deli, and Mac Mart, calling them “Zionist establishments” that “must go.”
The date falls on the eve of Kristallnacht, the 1938 Nazi pogrom when mobs destroyed thousands of Jewish-owned businesses.
Four Jewish organizations, Pennsylvania’s attorney general, and Governor Josh Shapiro’s office condemned the event as antisemitic intimidation.
Philadelphia police said they were prioritizing safety for the targeted businesses amid statewide outrage.

What Organizers Announced And When

Philly Bike On Your Left teamed up with Boycott CookNSolo and Philly Solidarity Calendar to plan the ride, with Philly Writers Against the War on Gaza also named as a collaborator. The event flyer listed a clear time, place, and target list, giving the action the structure of an organized political boycott rather than a spontaneous outburst. It was set for 11:30 a.m. on November 8, 2026.

An Instagram post promoting the ride reportedly described business owners as “zio business owners” and said the ride would show them “we see them for the disgusting humans they are”. That language moves past criticizing a government’s policies. It attacks people personally over their identity, which is exactly the line Jewish advocacy groups say separates political speech from targeted hate.

Why The Kristallnacht Timing Matters

Kristallnacht, meaning “Night of Broken Glass,” happened on November 9 and 10, 1938. Nazi-organized mobs smashed, looted, and burned thousands of Jewish-owned shops, homes, and synagogues across Germany and Austria. Scheduling a boycott of Jewish-owned restaurants on the eve of that anniversary is not a small coincidence to brush aside. It invites the exact comparison that followed.

The Anti-Defamation League called the timing “no coincidence” and said it sent “a deliberate message of hate and intimidation”. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said the timing was “unsettling” and that targeting businesses because their owners are Jewish revives “some of the oldest antisemitic tropes and tactics in history”. These are not vague fears. They are named officials drawing a direct historical line.

Jewish Groups And State Officials Push Back

The Anti-Defamation League’s Philadelphia office, the American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, and StandWithUs issued a joint statement calling the campaign “Jew-hatred, plain and simple”. They said marking businesses for removal was an attempt to “intimidate, marginalize and exclude members of the Jewish community” from Philadelphia’s civic and economic life.

Governor Shapiro’s spokesperson called the ride “blatant antisemitism designed to intimidate and drive Jewish businesses out of our communities,” adding there is “no place for that in our Commonwealth”. Philadelphia’s Commission on Human Relations director said the city would never “allow businesses, individuals or jobs to be run out” over bigotry or hate. That is a remarkably unified response from both state and city leadership, regardless of political party.

In response to this Sunday’s planned boycott of Jewish owned eateries in Philadelphia, StopAntisemitism is proud to join local groups in a food crawl to support the targeted businesses.

Starting at 11:30am, meet at HUDA in Rittenhouse Square and proceed from there.

Bon Appetit! https://t.co/6JdXKQtLAP pic.twitter.com/ochrDG3je5

— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) November 5, 2026

Organizers framed the boycott as criticism of Israeli government policy, a form of speech protected by the First Amendment. But the flyer language and target list focused on ownership and perceived identity, not documented policy positions or ties to any specific Israeli government action. Boycotts are a normal, legal part of American political life, and plenty of them target real corporate conduct. This one appears to target people for who they are, which is a different thing entirely, and the facts as reported bear that out.

Restaurant owners on the list said they would not be scared off. Jewish community members reportedly organized a “food crawl” to support the targeted businesses, turning a threatened boycott into a show of patronage instead. Philadelphia police said they were prioritizing safety measures around the event given the level of condemnation from state and local leaders. Whatever the organizers intended, the public reaction so far has been broad, specific, and bipartisan in rejecting it.