Chris Rabb Refuses To Condemn Antisemitic Boycott in His District; Attacks ‘Awful Things’ from Counterprotesters

Rabb added that some people were ‘triggered’ by the timing of the event, which was on the eve of the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht

Socialist congressman-elect Chris Rabb (D., Pa.) declined in an interview Wednesday to condemn the recent antisemitic “Bicycle Boycott” protest targeting Jewish businesses in his Philadelphia district. Instead, Rabb singled out “awful things” said by counterprotesters and emphasized the free speech rights of bicycle protesters.

He added dismissively that some people were “triggered by the timing of the bike ride,” which occurred on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht.

Rabb has faced intense criticism from Jewish leaders this week for failing to comment on the protests, in which organizers targeted several Jewish businesses in the City of Brotherly Love to “show these zionist business owners that we see them for the disgusting humans they are.” Gov. Josh Shapiro (D.) called the protest an attempt to “intimidate and drive Jewish businesses out of our communities.” Mayor Cherelle Parker (D.) called a protest that singled out Jews “unacceptable.” The son of late Sen. Arlen Specter (D.), who was Jewish, called Rabb a “sack of shit” for staying silent on the matter.

Rabb finally addressed the protests in an interview with CBS News’s Major Garrett, though his responses are unlikely to comfort his critics.

Asked “how comfortable” he was with protests against Jewish businesses, Rabb’s initial response was to defend the rights of the anti-Israel organizers.

“First things first, I respect everyone’s right to the First Amendment, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech,” said Rabb, who called for the need to “find common cause” on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Then he directly criticized Jews and their allies upset over the protest.

“I heard some awful things in some of the videos from counterprotesters,” said Rabb, who did not elaborate.

Nor did Rabb condemn the timing of the protest, which occurred on the eve of the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, in which Nazis attacked Jewish businesses and synagogues throughout Germany and Austria, and rounded up Jewish men to send to concentration camps. He instead acknowledged, dismissively, that some people were “triggered” by the timing of the protest.

“I also heard people who were hurting because they were triggered by the timing of the bike ride that related to boycotting of Jewish businesses in Nazi Germany,” he said.

Kristallnacht, or the night of broken glass, was a pivotal moment in the Holocaust, the first time Jews were rounded up and transported, just for being Jews.

Rabb told Garrett that he hoped to be “a convener” on the issue, and looked forward to “bringing people together.” But when asked whether he had a “specific plan” to do so regarding the protest, Rabb offered none.

“Even more broadly,” said Rabb.

It’s no surprise that Rabb would largely defend the antisemitic event.

He has worked closely in the past with two organizers of the protest, the Philadelphia Palestine Coalition and Philadelphia Black Alliance for Peace. He cosigned a letter in April with the two groups urging Shapiro to release Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is serving a life sentence (formerly a death sentence) for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in what is now Rabb’s district. The cosigners referred to Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther and NPR reporter, as a “Black freedom fighter” and “elderly political prisoner,” and vowed political retribution against lawmakers who opposed his release from prison.

Rabb was a vocal opponent of Israel on the campaign trail, sometimes toeing the line between criticism of the Jewish state and outright antisemitism. He campaigned in Philadelphia with Hasan Piker, the socialist influencer who said “America deserved 9/11” and that Israel is “way worse” than Hamas.

In December, his campaign social media account blamed “Zionists” for the Bondi Beach massacre, in which ISIS-inspired attackers murdered 15 Australian Jews during a Hanukkah event. Rabb blamed a campaign staffer for the post.

Rabb’s campaign website called for a “Palestinian right of return,” a policy that would let Palestinians take Israeli land and effectively end the existence of the Jewish state.