Boycotting Jewish Businesses Erev Kristallnacht
By now, the Jewish world, more or less, knows about the despicable, Jew-hating bike ride planned for Sunday, November 8th, on the eve of Kristallnacht, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If you’re not familiar, see the TOI article below.
Following is a description from the Instagram account of one of the sponsoring groups: Ride around Rittenhouse with us as we show these zionist business owners that we see them for the disgusting humans they are. We’ll flag as many bikes as we can and show our solidarity with the Palestinian community and oppressed folx everywhere ????????????????????????
Political Backbone of the Boycott
It took me a few hours to get past the front groups, but I eventually found the source: Philadelphia DSA – Democratic Socialists of America. Two days ago, the website proudly proclaimed the boycott ride, but now one has to dig deep on the website, and it is no longer on their calendar. Previously, it also listed the cosponsors of the bike ride, one of which is Philly Bike On Your Left. The ride can still be found under their section “our campaigns – no appetite for apartheid.”
The DSA front group ‘No Appetite for Apartheid NA4A,’ is organizing around the country looking for cosponsors like Philly Bike On Your Left. Their website states: “NA4A is a campaign being undertaken by DSA chapters and movement allies to coordinate action against companies in the food industry that are complicit in the ongoing settler colonial occupation of Palestine.” There is a lot more blah-blah-blah, but it’s not worth repeating.
This means, to the small minds of the organizers, that any Jew anywhere in the world is responsible for their perceived problem of “settler colonialism.” Unfortunately for them, a people, in this case the Jewish people, cannot colonize a land where they are the indigenous population. The Jews are native to Judea and have maintained a presence in the area for 4,000+ years. However, the DSA and other anti-Zionist groups think if they yell it loudly and get a vociferous following – this means they’re right. But they’re not. For a quick bit of history see the AJC article below.
And this time, it seems, boycotters have taken it a pedal too far. A situation too much like 1930s Germany is planned, but the law is now on our side. Scapegoat first – facts when convenient – doesn’t always work. The following is from the article below about the legal obstacles boycotters may be facing:
Mark Goldfeder, CEO of the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC), issued a stark warning to the group Philly Bike On Your Left, which organized the bicycle boycott ride targeting Jewish eateries in Philadelphia that is scheduled to take place Sunday, the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht.
“Dear Jew-hating Philly ‘Boycott Ride’ organizers,” he wrote on X. “If you don’t like our small business owners, wait till you meet our lawyers.”
Red/Green Alliance
The DSA’s anti-Zionist campaign is a product of the Red/Green alliance – the ideological merging between the far left and radical Islamism. They both employ anti-capitalist and anti-colonialist rhetoric, often misapplying facts to global situations. A perfect example is the use of the word genocide when referring to the war in Gaza. It’s not a genocide; it’s a war. For more on this, see my article below.
This type of alliance is not new; it is mostly an association of convenience, which has turned disastrous for the weaker partners in the past. The most recent example is the 1979 Iranian Revolution. There was collaboration at the start of the revolution; leftist and secular factions initially cooperated with or supported Ayatollah Khomeini. After the revolution, the left disappeared – either sidelined or executed.
Another example involves current politics in Western Europe; progressive/left parties and radical Islamist networks organize together on electoral drives but also seem to spend an inordinate amount of joint energy on anti-Israel campaigns. In the U.S. the overlap has been evident on college campuses. Funding for tent encampments, which began at the start of the Israel Gaza War, was organized by Muslim Brotherhood affiliates, which also supplied paid organizers and essential accoutrements like bullhorns and tents.
Conclusion
If the Philly bike boycott does happen, the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) will be watching closely. Knowing that NA4A is seeking new partners in other cities will give the boycotters something to think about before scheduling more Jew-hatred events.
It would be fantastic if this advocacy could stretch for Jewish artists and writers and entertainers, etc., who get cancelled or sidelined. For example, Jewish authors have had trouble getting published at publishing houses that have taken their previous books. There are hundreds of other current examples. Is there a legal leg to stand on? Organizers who force the cancelations use anti-Zionism as an excuse. However, they single out Jews, many of whom have nothing to do with Israel.
There was a recent New York City eatery example: Ethiopian Jewish owner, Beejhy Barhany, had peacefully operated Tsion Café in Harlem for ten years. It was not only a café, but it also functioned as a community gathering center. However, in February she announced the closing of the restaurant dining room with plans to write a cookbook, cater, and hold private events. Here is an excerpt from the article below: Barhany told the Forward she has received “a lot of hate, phone calls, harassment,” including someone scrawling a swastika on the front of the restaurant. “You kind of push it aside, you disregard it. But at the end of the day, there is an impact emotionally, and it becomes a burden. I said to myself, ‘You know what? It’s just not worth it. It’s too much to deal with.’”
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The silver lining in this cloud: the response from government officials in Pennsylvania has been overwhelming – starting with the governor, and moving on to the two sitting senators, the attorney general, U.S. and state house members, state senators, the mayor, city council president, Interfaith Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Council – among others. One can only hope that if there are further Jew-hatred events, anywhere in the country, government and other officials, as well as allies in local communities, religious and secular, will step in to help curtail what has been a brutal rising tide of antisemitism in the U.S.
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https://www.timesofisrael.com/pennsylvania-leaders-condemn-anti-zionists-targeting-jewish-eateries/
https://www.ajc.org/news/5-facts-about-the-jewish-peoples-ancestral-connection-to-the-land-of-israel
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/genocide-the-historic-inversion-of-our-time-orthe-never-ending-lie/
https://forward.com/news/806815/ethiopian-american-jews-tsion-cafe-harlem-restaurant/