Why I am Grateful to Philly Bike on Your Left

Today, on the eve of the 88^th anniversary of Kristalnacht, an organization called Philly Bike on Your left held a bike rally explicitly targeting six Jewish and Israeli owned restaurants in the City of Brotherly Love. Promotional fliers depicted the names of each business with a red circle and backslash symbol. I want to publicly thank the organizers for the potential awakening of the most naïve among us, who perhaps now realize that complacency and quiet assimilation do not guarantee our emotional or physical safety in America.

So, thank you to the organizers and participants of the bike protests and the rest of the flag-carrying, masked mob for these unintended consequences:

1. You showed us who you are and we believe you. In the first days after October 7, 2023, street rallies celebrating the attack were reported in the West Bank and in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Yemen. In Tehran, where the government publicly welcomed the operation, supporters set off fireworks. In Berlin and London videos appeared of people carrying Palestinian flags and celebrating the murder, mutilation, burning and rape of 1200 Israeli citizens. In Sydney, protesters chanted “gas the Jews” at a rally near the Opera House on October 9. We have had one horrific example after the next. When people show us who they are, we should believe them and quit making excuses for the sake of one political party or the other. Too many of us already feel displaced by the state of political affairs on both sides. Let’s not make it worse by burying our heads in the sand.

2. Your hypocrisy is on full display. Why is it that people who are supposedly so distraught about human rights violations, death and starvation don’t utter a word of protest when Sudan, Myanmar and Haiti are seeing mass killing, starvation and displacement? When 22 aid organizations were polled, they named Sudan and Congo the most neglected emergencies of 2025, citing the gap between the scale of suffering and the international response. How about Ukraine? Any protests planned against Russian owned businesses in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn? Of course not. Because how can Russian people living in the United States possibly be blamed for Putin’s actions? Can Americans be blamed for Trump’s war in Iran or for ICE’s actions? I certainly hope not.

3. Your actions demonstrate the point that anti-Zionism is synonymous with antisemitism. The flyers promoting the boycott refer to “these Zionist establishments,” because the boycotters equate all Jews with Zionists. The ADL defines anti-Zionism as “a prejudice against the Jewish movement for self-determination and the right of the Jewish people to a homeland in the State of Israel. It may be motivated by or result in antisemitism, or it may create a climate in which antisemitism becomes more acceptable.” We can mince words and engage in philosophical arguments all day long. The bottom line is that you can’t have one without the other. The protesters themselves have said so. Just read the flyer: “No Business for Zionists,” while targeting Jewish businesses only.

4. You are nothing by hatemongers. Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, antisemitism in the U.S. has risen to historically high levels. The ADL recorded about 8,900 incidents in 2023, 9,354 in 2024, and 6,274 in 2025. Assaults rose from 196 to 203, and Jews were murdered for the first time on U.S. soil since 2019. In 2025, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who were engaged, were gunned down outside the Capital Jewish Museum. Eleven days after the Washington shooting, Mohamed Soliman threw Molotov cocktails at peaceful marchers in Boulder, Colorado, who were calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas, shouting “Free Palestine” and reportedly telling police he wanted to “kill all Zionist people.” Karen Diamond, an 82-year-old woman was severely injured and died of her wounds. For those skeptical of the ADL’s numbers, here is an FBI statistic: Nearly two-thirds of all religion-based hate crimes reported in 2025 were against Jews even though Jews are about 2% of the U.S. population.

5. You abuse our basic rights. When slogans like “from the river to the sea” are chanted without regard to what the words mean, or worse, with full regard to what those words mean, all common sense and basic decency evaporate. When arguing “yes, but” when it comes to justifying rape and murder, you are complicit. When targeting businesses owned by Jews is justified by claims that Zionists have no place in Philadelphia, you trample on all that we hold dear in this country. The Declaration of Independence was adopted in Philadelphia in 1776, and the First Amendment, ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, protects free speech from government restriction. Today’s protestors took full advantage of the basic rights that are meant to protect us all and perverted their meaning to further a hateful and shameful agenda. Just because you have the right to say something, doesn’t make it right.

Most importantly, today’s vicious rally elicited an awe-inspiring outpouring of love and support from the community. Thousands of counter-protestors showed up on the streets of Philly reminding us that we are not alone. Long lines outside restaurants, music and love prevailed. Hate may be nearly impossible to eradicate from sick twisted minds who ignore history, facts and reason. But love is stronger than hate and it’s our only hope.