Philadelphia Jews Answer ‘Boycott Ride’ With Tefillin

A 76-year-old man in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square rolled up his sleeve on Sunday morning and put on tefillin for the first time in his life. Around him, crowds sang Jewish songs loud enough to drown out the protest passing by, while lines stretched around the block to support Jewish-owned businesses.

The Jewish community had come to answer a bicycle “boycott ride” aimed at six Jewish-owned businesses in the neighborhood. The ride had been ostensibly organized to target owners they accused of supporting Israel. It fell the day before the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the 1938 Nazi pogrom in which mobs burned synagogues and destroyed Jewish homes and businesses across Germany and Austria. Philadelphia’s Jews met it by showing up.

The hundreds of community members who came out far outnumbered the protestors, ensuring their boycott attempts failed. Those who gathered there described the day as one of hate transformed.

“It was a beautiful event in the end,” said Dovi Greenwald. “You saw how many Jews of all backgrounds came together in unity and Jewish pride.”

Greenwald, a member of Congregation Bnai Abraham in Philadelphia, walked through the crowds and helped over 50 men put on tefillin during the counterprotest, more than 10 of+ them for the first time.

“They were feeling inspired and connected to the Jewish community and appreciated the opportunity to do a mitzvah.”

Harris Gubin, who lives in Philadelphia, said the size of the crowds “sends a message of Jewish pride. We’re not going to be intimidated. We’re going to support our fellow Jews.”

‘Loud, Proud and Jewish’

Gubin first heard of the ride in the middle of last week. Philadelphia had seen protests before, he said, including a march through the city’s streets about a year ago. This one was different.

“I heard rustlings before, but nothing coordinated like this,” he said. The ride spread through social media posts, and by Thursday it had drawn national attention.

Alli and Yehuda Sichel own one of the businesses the ride targeted. At first, the Sichels shrugged.

“It’s not the first time,” Alli Sichel said. “When we saw this building up and that we were a target, we thought it was business as usual. We were a bit numb to it.”

Others were not.

“As it spread, a lot of people reached out and were outraged by it,” she said. “We were flooded with messages of solidarity.”

By then, the community was already planning its response.

The cyclists set out Sunday morning, a number of people wearing face masks, helmets and sunglasses. Several carried Palestinian flags. The crowds that lined the route through Rittenhouse Square drowned out their hateful message with Jewish joy and song.

Alli Sichel watched the two sides from inside her establishment. “The hate came from people who don’t know us,” she said. “On our side, the atmosphere was the opposite. Happy and positive.”

Many of those who came had stories to share, she said, including a young woman from the Midwest, who said the outpouring of Jewish unity was the first time she had felt at home in Philadelphia.

“Yesterday was loud, proud and Jewish,” says Alli Sichel. “And it was awesome.”