December 06, 2023
John Paul Titlow/PhillyVoice
Gov. Josh Shapiro stopped by Goldie in Center City Wednesday to express support for the restaurant. Earlier this week, pro-Palestinian protestors accused owner Michael Solomonov of supporting genocide in Gaza.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro made a lunchtime appearance at Goldie on Wednesday, three days after he condemned a pro-Palestinian protest that took place outside the popular Israeli-owned falafel spot.
Shapiro arrived at Goldie's 19th and Sansom location shortly before 11:00 a.m. to eat lunch and express support for the restaurant and its owner Michael Solomonov after a video of protestors accusing the restauranteur of supporting “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza went viral.
The video shows demonstrators stopping in front of the restaurant during a march against Israel's ongoing military operations in Gaza and chanting "Goldie, Goldie, you can't hide. We charge you with genocide!"
The Democratic governor was one of several elected officials to condemn the activists for purportedly targeting Goldie solely because it is an Israeli-owned business. In a tweet posted late Sunday night, Shapiro called the protestors’ actions “a blatant act of antisemitism” that was “reminiscent of a dark time in history.”
Shapiro was quickly joined by other politicians in decrying the protestors’ conduct. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Sen. John Fetterman and Reps. Ben Waxman and Brendan Boyle were just a few of the more prominent Pennsylvania officials to join in the chorus of condemnation. By Monday, the story had become national news with officials as high up as President Biden’s deputy press secretary accusing the demonstrators of antisemitism.
Tonight in Philly, we saw a blatant act of antisemitism — not a peaceful protest.
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) December 4, 2023
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. https://t.co/WS2guahnsQ
Shapiro reiterated his position Wednesday as he addressed reporters outside the restaurant that made national headlines.
“What they did was blatant antisemitism,” Shapiro said. “A mob came and protested a restaurant simply because it’s owned by a Jewish person. That is the kind of antisemitic trope that we saw in 1930s Germany. It’s the kind of thing we should not tolerate.”
The Philly Palestine Coalition, a group that has been organizing many of the local protests against Israel’s war in Gaza since it began in October, said in a statement posted on social media that Goldie was targeted by the protest and boycotts not because owner Michael Solomonov is Jewish, but because the Israel-born chef donated money to United Hatzalah, an Israeli nonprofit offering free ambulance services that activists claim has ties to the Israeli military.
“While western media has decided to make a three minute stop outside of this establishment the focal point of our protest, our actual mission was to march against the decades-long oppression of Palestinians,” the group said in its post.
More than 16,000 Palestinians are said to have been killed in Gaza since Israel's bombardment of the territory began after the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas militants, which left over 1,200 Israelis dead and resulted in 240 Israelis being taken hostage. An estimated 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced as Gaza devolves into what the United Nations Population Fund has called "a humanitarian crisis" of "catastrophic proportions."
The war has sparked what the Israeli newspaper Haaretz recently called "the largest pro-Palestinian mobilization in U.S. history," with over 1 million Americans believed to have taken part in protests against the U.S.-backed Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Like many big cities around the world, protests calling for a cease-fire have become a regular occurrence in Philadelphia since the war began two months ago.
When asked about the protest organizers’ objections on Wednesday, Shapiro dismissed them as “a distraction” and doubled down on his stance that the protests were antisemitic.
“People have a right to protest a difference in policy in the Middle East or in Israel,” Shapiro said. “They don’t have the right to come protest a restaurant simply because it’s owned by a Jew and hold that Jew responsible for Israeli policy. That’s the definition of antisemitism.”
After ordering falafel and greeting customers at Goldie, Shapiro said he met privately with Solomonov and his team to express his support for the restaurant.
