ELI FEDERMAN: A boycott backfired when Philadelphia showed up for Jewish businesses
The best response to antisemitism isn’t censorship.It’s philosemitism and exposing the truth.I learned about the protests targeting Jewish-owned restaurants in Philadelphia on Nov.
8 when my friend Ari Engel posted on social media about going out to eat to support those establishments.In Philadelphia, anti-Israel protesters organized a bicycle demonstration targeting six Jewish-owned restaurants and calling for a boycott.They wanted to discourage people from patronizing these businesses.PHILLY DSA DECRIES BACKLASH OVER BOYCOTT TARGETING JEWISH EATERIESInstead, the community turned their boycott upside down with a deluge of support and patronage for those Jewish-owned businesses.Demonstrators and counter-protesters confront each other during a protest ride organized by Philly Bike on Your Left around Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, Pa., Nov.
8.(Bastiaan Slabbers/Reuters)The timing of the protest was chilling as it took place on the eve of the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, when Nazis attacked Jewish businesses, shattered storefronts and terrorized Jewish communities across Germany and Austria.ANTI-ISRAEL SOCIALIST SILENT ON JEWISH BUSINESS BOYCOTT IN DISTRICT HE'S SET TO REPRESENTJewish organizations mobilized supporters in Philadelphia.
The ADL encouraged people to eat at the targeted restaurants.JewBelong erected billboards urging residents to boycott the boycott.
Hundreds of people showed up, packed restaurants and formed lines around city blocks.One restaurant worried it wouldn’t have enough food to serve everyone.The protesters wanted to drive customers away.
Instead, they drove customers in.I’M AN ARAB MUSLIM — I STILL DON’T UNDERSTAND THE ANTISEMITIC BDS MOVEMENTThere’s a profound lesson here about the power of free expression.The protesters exercised their freedom to call for a boycott.
The community exercised its freedom to reject it.Rather than demand censorship, ordinary citizens used their voices, their presence and their purc...