A newly elected Democratic socialist congressman from Philadelphia did not respond to questions about a boycott targeting Jewish-owned businesses in the city, even as prominent Pennsylvania Democrats condemned the demonstration, which coincided with the anniversary of Kristallnacht.
Rep.-elect Christopher Rabb, D-Pa., who currently represents part of Northwest Philadelphia in the state House, did not respond to requests for comment about the boycott, which drew a large counterprotest supporting Jewish residents and businesses in Rittenhouse Square.
A staff member at Rabb’s Harrisburg office acknowledged Fox News Digital’s inquiry and the two-hour deadline for a response. Fox News Digital also contacted Rabb’s Harrisburg and campaign offices by email.
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Over the weekend, the left-wing cycling group Philly Bike on Your Left helped organize a boycott targeting Jewish-owned businesses in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square neighborhood.
Flyers promoting the rally carried the slogans “No business for Zionists” and “Not in our city,” according to published reports. Philly Bike on Your Left could not immediately be reached for comment. Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, refers to the November 1938 Nazi-organized attacks on Jews, synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses across Germany and Austria.
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Rabb has been an outspoken critic of Israel. He previously declared that the “Nakba never ended” — a reference to the displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war — and has appeared with anti-Israel streamer Hasan Piker. Rabb has also called for Pennsylvania and the federal government to divest from Israel and participated in “war criminal” protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the United Nations.
Rabb’s lack of response contrasted with public condemnations from several prominent Pennsylvania Democrats, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson and Sen. John Fetterman.
Rabb currently represents part of Northwest Philadelphia in the state legislature but is set to represent a much larger portion of the city in Congress, including Center City and Rittenhouse Square, where the boycott took place.
Fox News Digital asked Rabb whether he supports the boycott’s objectives, whether Jewish-owned businesses should be targeted over the Israeli government’s actions and whether he agrees with fellow Democrats who condemned the demonstration, including progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Krasner noted the boycott’s proximity to the anniversary of Kristallnacht and described the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel as a “terrorist attack”. He also emphasized that “there is a difference between the leadership of a country and the people who reside there.”
He drew a comparison between criticism of Netanyahu and opposition to President Donald Trump, arguing that people should not be held responsible for the actions of their political leaders.
“Donald Trump didn’t do so well in this last election. Are all Americans the same as Donald Trump? Can they all be blamed for the things that he has done — is that fair?” he said, adding that legitimate demonstrations should not include epithets such as “ZioBusiness” — language he compared to rhetoric used by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
Although the boycott drew support from socialist activists, the Philadelphia chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America denied organizing or endorsing the demonstration, telling Fox News Digital that the group had no official involvement.
The group nevertheless criticized Shapiro, Johnson and Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., accusing them of participating in a “chorus of bad-faith and dangerous conflation of antisemitism with anti-Zionism and invoking comparisons of Kristallnacht that trivialize trauma and suppress political speech.”
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“Democratic voters sent a resounding message to a Trump administration engaged in violent acts of war abroad and at home… Yet in the wake of these historic victories, establishment Democrats have retreated to the very playbook that cost them the election in 2024.”
Boyle publicly condemned the planned boycott Thursday, issuing a statement condemning the plans as anti-Semitism .
“[T]argeting local businesses simply because they are Jewish-owned is simply wrong. Indeed, it is antisemitism,” Boyle said. “It evokes the darkest chapters of history, including the Nazi boycotts of Jewish businesses in the 1930s and Kristallnacht.”
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“Philadelphia is a city that welcomes people of all backgrounds. This kind of hatred and discrimination has no place in our city, and I strongly condemn it.”
The controversy presents an early test for Rabb as he prepares to represent a congressional district that includes both the site of the boycott and the Jewish-owned businesses targeted by demonstrators.
