Counterprotesters Swamp Boycott Ride Targeting 6 Jewish-Owned Philadelphia Businesses, Leading to 3 Arrests
Updated
Updated · CNN · Nov 8
Counterprotesters Swamp Boycott Ride Targeting 6 Jewish-Owned Philadelphia Businesses, Leading to 3 Arrests
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Nov 8
Summary
Hundreds of counterprotesters waving Israeli flags met a bicycle boycott ride in Philadelphia on Sunday, overwhelming parts of the procession around Rittenhouse Square and forcing some riders to carry bikes onto sidewalks.
Three people were arrested and no property damage was reported, police said, after verbal confrontations flared and officers on bicycles moved some demonstrators away; one 17-year-old was arrested for assaulting police.
Officials including Gov. Josh Shapiro and Mayor Cherelle Parker condemned the action as antisemitic targeting of six Jewish-owned businesses, while the US Holocaust Memorial Museum noted it came a day before the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht.
Organizer Philly Bike On Your Left said the boycott was aimed at businesses supporting Israel, not Jews, and allied activists accused politicians of conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism.
The clash lands amid a broader US rise in antisemitic incidents since October 7, 2023; Philadelphia logged 106 such incidents in 2025, according to the ADL's local branch.