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Governor Shapiro Blasts Protesters Targeting Michael Solomonov Restaurant

Plus, what's behind a massive decrease in Philadelphia school arrests.

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Renowned Philly chef Michael Solomonov, whose restaurant Goldie has been accused of "genocide" by protesters

Renowned Philly chef Michael Solomonov, whose restaurant Goldie has been accused of “genocide” by protesters (Getty Images)

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Governor Shapiro Blasts Protesters Targeting Michael Solomonov Restaurant Goldie

While the 49ers were shellacking the Eagles down at the Linc on Sunday, a very different scene was playing out in Rittenhouse Square and University City, with scores of protesters taking to the streets to rally against Israel’s actions in the Middle East.

They carried signs accusing Israel of murdering children. They waved Palestinian flags. And they stopped by Michael Solomonov’s popular falafel restaurant Goldie. No, they didn’t go to Goldie to eat.

“Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide; we charge you with genocide,” they chanted over and over again, reportedly defacing the storefront with stickers that were later removed.

Solomonov, who is Jewish and originally from Israel, hasn’t publicly responded to the Goldie incident. But Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro sure has. Shapiro took to social media late on Sunday night with the following:

Tonight in Philly, we saw a blatant act of antisemitism — not a peaceful protest.

A restaurant was targeted and mobbed because its owner is Jewish and Israeli. This hate and bigotry is reminiscent of a dark time in history.

I’ve communicated tonight with Michael and his team at @goldiefalafel to share our support and Lori and I look forward to breaking bread there with them again soon.

A group called the Philly Palestine Coalition has for more than a month been urging the public to boycott certain restaurants in Philadelphia owned by Jewish people or that the group sees as supportive of Israel.

Sylvester Stallone Pays Us a Visit

Sylvester Stallone came to Philly on Sunday to promote the new Rocky Shop outside the Art Museum and to accept the key to the city on what officials declared “Rocky Day.” (It’s a little hard for me to believe it took this many years for us to give Stallone the key to the city or declare a Rocky Day, but based on a search of local news archives going back to the ’70s, that appears to be the case.)

sylvester stallone and wife jennifer flavin on rocky day in Philadelphia

(Getty Images)

That’s Stallone with wife Jennifer Flavin, whom you almost certainly don’t remember from the unforgivably bad Rocky V, and what appears to be a phalanx of security.

Here’s Stallone hamming it up with City Councilmember Curtis Jones:

sylvester stallone with curtis jones

(Getty Images)

And it’s not a party until Chevy Chase inexplicably shows up:

sylvester stallone with chevy chase

(Getty Images)

Alas, it’s not because Chase and Stallone are co-starring in National Lampoon’s Philly Vacation. But come to think of it, that’s not the worst idea ever.

Local Talent

Congrats to veteran Philly actress Amanda Schoonover, who managed to score some screen time with Eddie Murphy in the new Christmas movie Candy Cane Lane, as seen in this screen grab:

You may recognize Schoonover from countless Philadelphia theater productions — or from that Philly-filmed Jason Segel series Dispatches from Elsewhere.

And Quinta Brunson has got to be happy. ABC just announced that Abbott Elementary, her hit comedy about public schools in Philadelphia, has landed the coveted slot immediately following the Oscars. It all goes down on March 10th.

By the Numbers

4: Years since a West Philly community development corporation announced that Parkside would be getting a Starbucks on 52nd Street, which was seen as a big deal or just more gentrification, depending on one’s perspective. That was 2019. But now it’s 2023, and there’s no Starbucks. And nobody is saying why. More on this mocha mystery here.

13: Members of City Council who just voted in favor of a face-mask ban in Philadelphia, thus sending the matter to still-Mayor Jim Kenney’s desk for a signature. Two voted against the measure: Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier and Kendra Brooks.

91 percent: Decrease in arrests of Philadelphia kids for behavior at school since 2013. No, the kids didn’t suddenly become little angels. This is all thanks to a diversionary program from the mind of Kevin Bethel, whom Cherelle Parker just tapped to be her new police commissioner. Bethel was a deputy commissioner at the time of the program’s implementation. In short, police can’t arrest students for minor crimes they may have committed in school (say, disorderly conduct or marijuana possession) unless the offending students already have a pending court case or a history of being adjudicated as a “delinquent” in juvenile court.

And from the Dreary-Dearie Sports Desk …

The Eagles came into Sunday’s soggy matchup with the 49ers at the Linc as three-point underdogs, much to the ire of Birds fans. So when we got initial possession, naturally, we drove down the field and scored a field goal. And then held the 49ers to three-and-out. All righty then. All the running backs and receivers were playing well on our next drive, for a change. If Jalen Hurts hadn’t slipped on the wet field and taken a loss of yardage, we would have scored a TD on our second drive; we got another 3 instead.

Our D held them on their next, with a couple of big sacks, but San Fran finally got something going in the second quarter, and a valiant goal-line stand was negated by a call on Josh Sweat that let Brock Purdy toss a touchdown to Brandon Aiyuk — or was it? They checked; it was.

Our offense stalled halfway through the quarter, as Hurts took a sack, but an amazing run by DeVonta Smith got us a first down. It went for naught; where the hell was our running game? And their Christian McCaffrey ran it in for another TD right at the close of the half. Sucked. And Deebo Samuel scored after a long first drive to open the third: 21-6. Great, great. But then this:

Would that get us going? An A.J. Brown catch for a first down at the two, a Brotherly Shove to the one, another Shove, and Hurts got in: 21-13. And still more fisticuffs, by Jove! But the 49ers scored another TD — their fourth in four drives — and Hurts got hurt.

After another San Fran TD, Mariota appeared, albeit briefly, before Hurts came back in, having cleared concussion protocol. He tossed a TD to Smith; we went for the two points but didn’t convert. Our on-sides kick didn’t work, either. I went to sew the granddaughters’ Christmas dresses. A soul can only take so much. Final: 42-19. Yuck.

Did the Sixers Play?

They did, on Friday night, vs. Celtics. The starters: De’Anthony Melton, Marcus Morris Sr., Paul Reed, Tobias Harris and Patrick Beverley. We had no Tyrese Maxey, no Joel Embiid and no Nic Batum, all of whom were wounded. Starters on the other side included former Sixers Al Horford and Jrue Holiday; the only Celtic out was Kristaps Porzingis. And our very first pass was stolen by Jaylen Brown for a Boston basket. But we hung in there halfway through the first quarter, though Reed had two fouls already. Jayson Tatum picked up a T for over-bitching. Nick Nurse got hit with one, too. Close of the first: 44-36. A Morris three at the buzzer put us up 72-69 at the half, but you were waiting for the hammer to fall. Beverley and Melton each had 16 points, the most in the game.

And yet! They hung in there right through the third; it helped that Tatum, who led the Celts in scoring with 21, was ejected after he elbowed Robert Covington and earned a Flagrant 1 right at the buzzer. What a crazy game. After a great night, Melton fouled out with five minutes to go and the Sixers down 111-108. They gave it a great run but lost in the end, 125-119. A much better game than we had any right to expect. They’re off until Wednesday, when they play the Wizards in D.C.

Any Other Sports News?

In case you didn’t hear, the Eagles made history by having their game against the Seahawks scheduled for Sunday, December 17th, flexed to Monday Night Football on December 18th — MNF’s first ever flexed game. The change will replace a bout between the lowly Patriots and Andy Reid’s Chiefs. The Inky’s Mike Sielski is among those not pleased at the change.

And longtime Union captain and all-around great guy Alejandro Bedoya was announced as the recipient of the 2023 Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which is a terribly named nod honoring charitable and social impact work that creates sustainable communities and fosters equity and inclusion. The nod comes with a $100,000 award to Bedoya’s chosen charity, the Philadelphia Equity Alliance.

And on the College Gridiron?

Villanova’s Wildcats handily defeated the Youngstown Penguins in their FCS playoff matchup on Saturday, 45-28, at home in Villanova Stadium. Now the ’Cats, who are seeded eighth, face top-seeded South Dakota State, who bested them in the 2021 playoffs, in the quarterfinals.

What About in College Hoops?

In the inaugural Big 5 Classic tournament on Saturday, the Drexel Dragons just nipped 17th-ranked Villanova, 57-55. In a thriller, the Penn Quakers lost to the La Salle Explorers, 93-92, on a last-second half-court prayer:

And in the championship bout, St. Joe’s went up early over Temple and stayed up through the entire game, though the Owls made a stab at a comeback early in the second half. Final score: 74-65. A fun tournament, especially that Penn-La Salle game!

The Flyers also played. They’ll play again.

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.

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