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Anti-Israel Coalition Justifies Targeting of Philadelphia Restaurant Owned by Israeli Chef, Cites ‘Genocide’ in Gaza
An anti-Israel group based in Philadelphia has tried to justify what lawmakers and other government officials described as an antisemitic demonstration targeting a restaurant owned by American–Israeli chef Michael Solomonov, making outlandish accusations against the famed chef and the Jewish state.
The Philly Palestine Coalition — which has called for a “complete end to the siege on Gaza and an end to the US complicity with Israel” — organized the demonstration, which took place in downtown Philadelphia on Sunday. At one point during the rally, the mob of protesters gathered outside Goldie, a vegan falafel restaurant co-owned by Solomonov, and chanted “Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.” The anti-Israel protesters also vandalized the front door and windows of Goldie, according to reports.
After the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, the Philly Palestine Coalition called for a boycott of various Zionist and Israeli-owned restaurants in Philadelphia, including a number of Solomonov’s establishments.
In its statement on Monday, the coalition said it targeted Solomonov’s restaurant because he is “actually cheering on and financially supporting” what they falsely called a “genocide” being carried out by Israel in Gaza. Israel has been attacking Hamas targets in Gaza since the Palestinian terror group’s massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7.
The coalition also alleged that Solomonov “has made a handsome living passing off Palestinian and other Arab cuisine as ‘Israeli food,’ the proceeds of which are now supporting the very army [the Israel Defense Forces] that is enacting Israel’s genocidal bombing of the Palestinians.”
The anti-Israel group also criticized the $100,000 Solomonov helped raise in October for United Hatzalah of Israel — to help the volunteer-based organization provide free medical services to those affected by the terror attacks — and the fact that the chef was appointed the culinary ambassador of Israel by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.
“It is due to his direct ties to the apartheid government [of Israel] and his financial contributions to its army that we will continue to boycott his establishments,” the coalition added in its statement, saying that it “has been protesting, and will continue to protest, Israel’s decades long violent colonization of Palestine, the most recent manifestation of which is the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”
Many Pennsylvania politicians condemned the incident that took place outside Goldie on Sunday night, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, state Sen. Nikil Saval, US Rep. Brendan Boyle, US Sen. John Fetterman, state Rep. Ben Waxman and former US Rep. Mondaire Jones. White House spokesman Andrew Bates also called the targeting of Goldie “completely unjustifiable.” Many of the figures, including Shapiro and Bates, characterized Sunday’s mob as an act of antisemitism.
The Philly Palestine Coalition found fault with the politicians for condemning their actions against Goldie. They criticized the leaders for not supporting them as they “stand up against a genocidal settler colony and those who are enabling it.”
“We will continue to organize, boycott, march, and resist oppression from Philadelphia and Ferguson, to Palestine and Congo and beyond,” the group said in conclusion.
Solomonov was born in G’nei Yehuda, Israel, and raised in Pittsburgh. The chef, restauranteur, cookbook author, and multiple James Beard Award winner is the co-owner of the Philadelphia hospitality group CookNSolo Restaurants together with Steve Cook. He also co-owns Philadelphia’s Zahav, Federal Donuts, Dizengoff, Abe Fisher, Goldie, K’Far, Merkaz, and Laser Wolf.
CookNSolo did not respond to The Algemeiner‘s request for comment about the incident outside Goldie on Sunday night.
The post Anti-Israel Coalition Justifies Targeting of Philadelphia Restaurant Owned by Israeli Chef, Cites ‘Genocide’ in Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.