Point
Breeze, Philadelphia – A community meeting in Point Breeze turned ugly
Monday evening when attendees began hurling what some witnesses perceived to be
racist or anti-Semitic epithets to oppose Jewish developers.
Four
witnesses attributed the comments to members of Concerned Citizens of Point
Breeze, a vocal anti-gentrification group that has fought several development
projects in South Philadelphia.
City
Councilman Kenyatta Johnson said Tuesday that due to the nature of the
comments, he had reached out to the city Human Relations Commission.
“At this meeting, an individual in
attendance made an anti-Semitic comment,” Johnson said in a statement.
“This comment was totally inappropriate, and will not be tolerated.”
Johnson
did not attend the meeting, but a staffer from his office was present.
Ori
Feibush, a Point Breeze developer who unsuccessfully challenged Johnson in last
year’s Democratic primary, said a member of Concerned Citizens was leading the
opposition to builders who were making presentations at South Philadelphia
HOMES, the community organization that hosted the meeting.
“This was not one person with a screw
loose,” Feibush said. “This was a mob mentality.”
Feibush,
who is Jewish, did not present any projects at the meeting. He was attending as
a neighbor.
One
comment he said he heard was, “Why don’t you go back to Israel?”
“It was hostile,” said Kathy
Knese, a South Philadelphia resident who heard some of the remarks.
One
attendee, who asked not to be identified, said he heard someone shout, “Go
back to Lakewood,” a town in New Jersey with a large concentration of
Orthodox Jews.
Some
of the presenters were Jewish. At least one was wearing a yarmulke, a brimless
cap worn by some Jews.
“I’ve experienced plenty of
antisemitism in that neighborhood, but last night was by far the most
vitriolic I’ve ever seen,” Feibush said. “It wasn’t one person. It
was not even remotely veiled. It was completely and utterly focused on those
that were presenting. It was abhorrent.”
The
meeting was brought to an end after the head of South Philadelphia HOMES was
notified that a person had made a comment that was widely perceived to be
anti-Semitic, according to an attendee. Outside, a shouting match ensued, some
captured on video by Christopher Sawyer, who runs the Philadelinquency blog and
ran for sheriff last year.
Concerned
Citizens, whose leaders have clashed with Feibush and others, has sought to
block some developments, saying they will attract “yuppies” and
displace lower-income minority residents by driving up property values.
In
addition to the Human Relations Commission, Johnson said, he had notified the
Planning Commission, which recognizes Concerned Citizens as a registered
community organization. Developers seeking zoning variances must present their
plans to such organizations.
Claudia
Sherrod, head of South Philadelphia HOMES, also sent a letter to the Planning
Commission on Tuesday, asking it to take action against the “out of
control” Concerned Citizens.
Concerned
Citizens did not respond to a request for comment. But on Tuesday, the
organization sent an email to Feibush – much of it in capital letters – saying
that he was lying about the community meeting.
“Don’t try to twist what was said at
the zoning meeting last night or play victim,” the email stated (in
lowercase for readability). “You have been plotting and scheming about us
on Facebook since Sunday.” Feibush’s Facebook page showed no posts before
the meeting since Feb. 11.
