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White House Blasts Protest at Israeli Restaurant in Philadelphia
(NBC News) Daniel Arkin - The White House has condemned a group of protesters who massed and chanted in front of an Israeli-style falafel shop in Philadelphia on Sunday night. "It is antisemitic and completely unjustifiable to target restaurants that serve Israeli food over disagreements with Israeli policy," White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Monday. In a video clip on X, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside Goldie in Center City, one of several restaurants co-owned by Israel-born chef Michael Solomonov. The protesters shouted: "Goldie, Goldie, you can't hide. We charge you with genocide." Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Sunday described the protest as "a blatant act of antisemitism - not a peaceful protest." Shapiro said Goldie was "targeted and mobbed because its owner is Jewish and Israeli. This hate and bigotry is reminiscent of a dark time in history." Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said: "They could be protesting Hamas. They could be protesting Hamas' systematic rape of Israeli women and girls or demanding the remaining hostages be immediately released. Instead, they targeted a Jewish restaurant. It's pathetic and rank antisemitism."