White House condemns antisemitic protest outside restaurant in Philly

The White House on Monday pushed back against protesters in Philadelphia who demonstrated outside of a restaurant that serves Israeli food, calling it “completely unjustifiable.” 

Protesters supporting Gaza and calling for a cease-fire gathered Sunday night outside of Goldie, which is part of a restaurant group co-owned by Israeli-born Michael Solomonov, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. One reporter shared a video of protesters chanting “Goldie, Goldie you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.”

“It is Antisemitic and completely unjustifiable to target restaurants that serve Israeli food over disagreements with Israeli policy, as Governor Shapiro has underlined,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement. “This behavior reveals the kind of cruel and senseless double standard that is a calling card of Antisemitism.”

“President Biden has fought against the evil of Antisemitism his entire life, including by launching the first national strategy to counter this hate in American history,” Bates added. “He will always stand up firmly against these kinds of undignified actions.”

The protest also drew pushback from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), who called it a “blatant act of antisemitism.”

“A restaurant was targeted and mobbed because its owner is Jewish and Israeli. This hate and bigotry is reminiscent of a dark time in history,” Shapiro wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The White House has in recent weeks pushed back against various instances of antisemitism as well as Islamophobia, both of which have spiked since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel carried out by Hamas that left roughly 1,200 Israelis dead.

Thousands of Palestinians have died in ensuing Israeli strikes in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas.

The White House earlier this year rolled out a first of its kind strategy to combat antisemitism in the United States, and the administration said last month it would develop a similar strategy to address Islamophobia.