A spokesperson for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro slammed a planned bicycle rally targeting Jewish- and Israeli-owned businesses in the heart of Philadelphia on Sunday and said that state police are engaging with local law enforcement about the incident.

The event, organized by local anti-Israel groups on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, has been condemned by local Jewish organizations as an antisemitic attempt to intimidate and exclude the local Jewish community.

“The Shapiro Administration is aware of this planned protest and the Pennsylvania State Police is engaged with our local partners to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our neighbors in Philadelphia,” Shapiro spokesperson Rosie Lapowsky said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “This bike ride, masquerading as a protest to advance the cause of justice, is nothing more than blatant antisemitism designed to intimidate and drive Jewish businesses out of our communities, and there is no place for that in our Commonwealth.”

Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), who represents a Philadelphia district, also described the event as antisemitic.

“Every American has the right to peacefully protest the policies of any government, including the Israeli government. But targeting local businesses simply because they are Jewish-owned is simply wrong. Indeed, it is antisemitism. It evokes the darkest chapters of history, including the Nazi boycotts of Jewish businesses in the 1930s and Kristallnacht,” Boyle said in a statement to JI. “Philadelphia is a city that welcomes people of all backgrounds. This kind of hatred and discrimination has no place in our city, and I strongly condemn it.”

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday also called the event “deeply unsettling” and “unconscionable.”

“By explicitly targeting businesses because their owners are Jewish, the organizers are engaging in a form of discrimination that falls back on some of the oldest antisemitic tropes and tactics in history,” Sunday said in a statement. “This is not simply a protest directed at the policies of Israel, rather it singles out our fellow Pennsylvanians based on their Jewish identity, targeting them for policies they have nothing to do with and no ability to affect because of their faith.”