After more than 2,000 people showed up in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square on Sunday to support Jewish-owned businesses targeted by an anti-Israel boycott ride, two more bike rides—one pro-Israel and one anti-Israel—are planned for Nov. 15.
The “Ride for Israel” is set to begin at the famed statue of Rocky Balboa, the main character from the “Rocky” films that first hit screens in 1976, on the steps leading up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Participants were told to gather at 11:30 a.m. Departure time was noon.
“Antisemitism and hatred have no place in our city,” stated a flier shared by Chevra, a Jewish young professionals group in the city. It depicts a cyclist carrying an Israeli flag.
The original wording stated that the pro-Israel ride would end at the Liberty Bell; organizers clarified that the endpoint would only be shared with participants.
The Philadelphia Police Department and private security will monitor the event, according to Philly Israel Alliance, a grassroots group helping organize the event.
“Our security plan includes a designated, barricaded gathering area at the Rocky statue, police-controlled street closures and a police escort featuring motorcycles, bicycles and armored vehicles,” it stated. “Law enforcement will also provide aerial drone surveillance throughout the event.”
A second flier, shared by Philly Bike On Your Left, which organized the Nov. 8 boycott of six restaurants, advertises a “great ride of return” (a play on the Palestinian position of a demographic “right of return” to areas before the establishment of modern-day Israel in May 1948) also gathering at 11:30 a.m. outside the art museum and departing at noon.
It portrays a cyclist carrying an oversized key decorated with a watermelon—a symbol of Palestinian identity because its colors resemble the Palestinian flag—an olive branch and a black-and-white pattern similar to a keffiyeh.
The Philly Israel Alliance stated that law enforcement will keep the boycott ride away from the pro-Israel cyclists and that officers will “maintain separation between the two events, with access to our secured procession restricted.”
