Peaceful Philly Pro-Palestine Protest Disparaged As 'Antisemitic' By PA Leaders

PENNSYLVANIA — A peaceful protest in Philadelphia Sunday against the Israeli violence in Gaza was labeled by Pennsylvania leaders and the White House as "antisemitic" after protesters made a stop at a Jewish-owned restaurant that has provided funds to the Israeli military. Pro-Palestinian advocates say it's the latest instance of a one-sided, pro-Israel response to the crisis by elected leaders that is contributing to the erasure of Palestinians and their voices and re-entrenching the conflict on both sides.

The protests come after Israel ended a brief ceasefire over the weekend despite repeated pleas from the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations to end the violence. Some 16,000 people, including 6,600 children, have died in Gaza since the Hamas attacks killed 1,200 in Israel on Oct. 7, according to Reuters.

"Shockingly, whole sectors of western society not only remain silent in the face of genocide, but are actually cheering it on and financially supporting it," the Philly Palestine Coalition, which organized Sunday's protest, said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon. "Michael Solomonov (owner of Goldie's, one of the businesses protested) is one such person. He has made a handsome living passing off Palestinian and other Arab cuisine as 'Israeli food', the proceeds of which are now supporting the very army that is enacting Israel's genocidal bombing of Palestinians."

Patch inquiries to Cooknsolo, Solomonov's restaurant group which owns Goldie's and other award winning eateries in Philadelphia like Zahav, were not answered. The company has previously declined to comment on related allegations.

Specifically, the Philly Coalition pointed to Solomonov's October donation of $100,000 in customer proceeds to the Friends of United Hatzlah, a volunteer organization that focuses on providing emergency medical response but which also raises funds for equipment, food, and basic supplies for the Israeli military.

The Coalition added that beyond that donation, Solomonov has been appointed by the Israeli government as an official culinary ambassador, inextricably tying him to the "apartheid government."

But these points of nuance went either ignored or unapprehended by leaders like Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, several state legislative leaders, and a spokesperson for the White House, who each claimed the protesters had "targeted" Goldie's for no other reason than that it was Jewish-owned. The protest was further decried by Shapiro as a "mob," echoing language used by the right to discredit Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, even though the Philadelphia Police Department confirmed that the protest did not cause any property damage or lead to any arrests.

"Tonight in Philly, we saw a blatant act of antisemitism — not a peaceful protest," the governor said. "A restaurant was targeted and mobbed because its owner is Jewish and Israeli. This hate and bigotry is reminiscent of a dark time in history." Fetterman, meanwhile, urged individuals protesting deaths in Gaza to instead "protest Hamas."

The governor did not elaborate on which part was considered not peaceful. Multiple Patch inquiries to Gov. Shapiro's office requesting an explanation for this characterization were not answered. But the same language was reiterated by the White House.

"It is antisemitic and completely unjustifiable to target restaurants that serve Israeli food over disagreements with Israeli policy, as Governor Shapiro has underlined,” Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for the White House, said in a statement.

It's not the first time that similar calls for an end to what protesters call the "unimaginable carnage" in Gaza have been construed by liberal Democrats as hateful or antisemitic. Perspectives from Shapiro, Fetterman, and much of the Democratic Party have been firmly "one-sided" since the beginning of the conflict, according to the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Philadelphia.

“Governor Shapiro deliberately chose to ignore the humanity of Palestinians who are once again being ignored by the international community," CAIR Executive Director Ahmet Tekelioglu said in response to the governor's initial comments on the crisis. "Our community expected better from someone who has spent time at our events and in our community centers. There are leaders he personally knows who have lost family members to airstrikes in Gaza. His silence on Palestinian civilians sends a strong message."

The protest Sunday, which wound through Philadelphia's University City, ended at the UC Townhomes, where a controversial construction project is leading to the forced relocation of long-time residents. Following a lawsuit, the city has since agreed to build affordable housing on that block and provide money to residents forced to leave. The choice to end the protest at a site of displacement was symbolic, organizers said.

"We understand that the displacement of Black and Brown people in Philadelphia stems from the same violent institutions that are perpetrating the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians," the Coalition said.