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<\/p>\nPhiladelphia\u2019s fifth annual Palestine Day slated for next week in City Hall is stirring up controversy due to its proximity to an important date for Jewish people. The event is set for November 24, 2025, in the mayor\u2019s reception room where she\u2019ll issue a proclamation, according to a flyer provided by one of the organizers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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As a result, the Zionist Organization of America\u2019s Greater Philadelphia (ZOAGP) chapter sent a certified letter<\/a> to Mayor Cherelle Parker last week asking her to cancel the event \u201cout of grave concern for the well-being of the local Jewish community, all Philadelphians and visitors to our city from its suburbs and beyond, as well as for Philadelphia\u2019s reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n ZOAGP Executive Director, Steve Feldman, confirmed the certified letter was delivered to the mayor\u2019s office on November 17, 2025, but is not optimistic that she will cancel the event.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe it is highly unlikely that the mayor will cancel the event because it appears that she is under the influence of those who are anti-Jewish and who want to delegitimize Israel and Jewish self-determination,\u201d said Feldman. \u201cLast year\u2019s such event \u2014 the first since Parker has been mayor \u2014 was relatively low-key. This year it is in City Hall and she will issue a proclamation in support.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s office did not return a request for comment, and its website<\/a> only shows special events through November 22, 2025.<\/p>\n The flyer describes the event as a celebration of \u201cthe longstanding social, economic, and historical contributions of Palestinian Philadelphians and the broader Arab community, whose roots in this city reach back to the mid-1800\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n The description reads simply as a commemoration of Palestinians in Philadelphia; however, Feldman and the ZOAGP view the event, and particularly its timing, differently.<\/p>\n \u201cThe timing of the event indicates that there is an agenda behind it beyond celebrating Palestinian-Arabs or Arabs in general,\u201d said Feldman. \u201cIt is within a week of November 29 \u2014 the anniversary of the passage of United Nations Resolution 181, which cleared the way for the re-establishment of Israel by partitioning British Mandate Palestine \u2014 and a significant day for Jews. The Jewish People accepted the partition. The Arabs rejected it.\u201d<\/p>\n Feldman questioned why the city did not consider other dates or a different time of year.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the city wants to celebrate Palestinian-Arabs, why not do it in the Spring or any time other than in the vicinity of this anniversary,\u201d asked Feldman. \u201cAnd if the event is supposed to recognize the larger Arab community, why not celebrate Egyptian Independence day? Egypt is the most populous Arab country. The answer is simple: When you connect the dots: the dagger is pointed at the Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n Jude Husein, one of the event organizers, replied to a request for comment by sharing the flyer and inviting Broad + Liberty to the event; however, she did not respond to a question about ZOAGP\u2019s request to cancel the event.<\/p>\n Other Jewish advocacy groups expressed dismay over the mayor\u2019s event and questioned its affiliation with the School District of Philadelphia.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe upcoming Philadelphia Palestine Day \u2014 supported by the Office of Muslim Engagement, the School District of Philadelphia, and organizations within the Philadelphia Palestine Coalition \u2014 has sparked serious concern within the city\u2019s Jewish community,\u201d said Caren Lowrey, a member of a grassroots watchdog group that tracks antisemitism and anti-Zionism.\u00a0Husein disputes Lowrey\u2019s assertion that any of the organizations listed above are partners in organizing the event.<\/p>\n \u201cAt a time when antisemitism and anti-Zionism are escalating across Philadelphia\u2019s schools and public spaces, and with multiple federal complaints and lawsuits already filed citing discrimination and hostility toward Jewish students, this City Hall proclamation sends a deeply troubling message,\u201d Lowry said. \u201cInstead of fostering dialogue or understanding, the event appears to elevate groups that have repeatedly spread falsehoods and dangerous rhetoric about Jews and Israel, while actively resisting Jewish inclusion in academic, civic, and cultural settings.\u201d<\/p>\n Philadelphia School District Communications Officer, Christina Clark, denied any connection to the event in a response to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The School District of Philadelphia Jewish Families Association (SDPJFA), an advocacy group composed of Jewish parents and families, raised additional concerns about Palestinian recognition days amidst allegations of antisemitism in the district. Specifically, the group notes the district includes November 29 as the \u201cInternational Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People\u201d on its cultural calendar<\/a>, yet excludes November 30 as the \u201cMizrahi Heritage Day of Commemoration.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-9-1024x557.png\")
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