Minor clashes erupted on Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square as a bike ride protest against Jewish-owned restaurants was met with counterprotesters.
Oliya Scootercater, a US-based journalist covering the protest Sunday for Freedom News TV, reported that multiple individuals were injured during the protests. A video shared by the social media handle Freedom News shows the purported confrontation between the two groups. A police officer was seen separating the two groups as things seemed to turn violent.
When the protest was announced, the evening before Kristallnacht’s anniversary- the massacre of Jews and their institutions by Nazis in 1938- it drew widespread condemnation from the city authorities and Israeli groups. NBC 10 reported that at least one individual was detained by the police, but it was unclear why.
“This is not simply a protest directed at the policies of Israel, rather it singles out our fellow Pennsylvanians based on their Jewish identity, targeting them for policies they have nothing to do with and no ability to affect because of their faith,” Sunday wrote.
