Two waitresses at a bar in Philadelphia were fired after holding up a “F*** the Jews” sign brought by a Temple University student, who has since been suspended.
“The employees complied with a customer’s request for a sign in connection with ordering bottle service,” said Dave Portnoy, a Jewish American businessman who owns the Barstool Sansom Street bar, where the incident took place on Saturday.
The student, Mo Khan, posted a video of the sign on his Instagram, however, he has since deleted his account.
Portnoy posted a video, which he referred to as an “emergency press conference,” on Sunday in which he said he was “shaking” and “so f***ing mad.”
“I’m 20 steps ahead, and I’m using everything [at my disposal],” he added. “I am going to come for your f***ing throat unless you give me answers.”
UPDATE: Temple University has suspended student Mohammed “Mo” Khan over his possible involvement with the “F*ck the Jews” sign fiasco at Barstools Sports in Philadelphia last night. Khan’s Snapchat post from February showcases his past antisemitism. https://t.co/dHyzvKmp5d pic.twitter.com/6fHAchQ8VL
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) May 4, 2025
He added that he had spoken to two men involved in the incident, as well as the two waitresses, who were fired. According to Portnoy, Khan told him he was “not antisemitic.”
Temple University President John Fry called the antisemitic incident “deeply disturbing.”
“In the strongest terms possible, let me be clear: Antisemitism is abhorrent,” Fry said in a letter he wrote to the university community on Sunday, adding that hatred and discrimination run contrary to the ethos of the university.
The president noted that the Division of Student Affairs is conducting an investigation into the incident, and that one student believed to have been involved has been placed on interim suspension already.
“Any additional students who are found to be involved will face strict disciplinary action under the Student Conduct Code, up to and including expulsion,” he warned.
Portnoy's response
In a follow-up video later on Sunday, Portnoy said he had decided the incident could be used to teach those involved and that he was paying for the two men involved to visit Auschwitz, calling it “a fair outcome.”
“They’ve agreed to go,” he explained. “We’re going to send these kids to Auschwitz, and they’re going to do a tour of the concentration camps... and hopefully learn something.
Emergency Press Conference - I’m sending the people who ordered the “Fuck Jews” signs at my bar to Auschwitz to learn about the Holocaust. Rather than ruin a couple 20 year oldslives maybe this can be used as a teaching moment pic.twitter.com/sci4hBPBFA
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) May 4, 2025
“The more I thought about it, it’s like, these are young f***ing morons who did this drunk,” he said. “It’s like, do you really want to ruin someone’s life?”
Portnoy also said in a video that he has “had more hate, more antisemitism in the last year/year and a half that I’ve ever had.”
Rabbi David Kushner, a Philadelphia Police Department chaplain, told ABC6 that he had spoken to a “distraught” Portnoy.
“He’s absolutely distraught, he is angered, he is frustrated, and he’s doing everything that he can possibly do to track down who these people are,” said Kushner.
In a public statement, Barstool said it was “saddened, embarrassed, and frustrated by the deplorable actions of a customer and misguided staff... which resulted in antisemitic hate speech last evening at our establishment.
“Several employees ignored all of their training and the organization’s written policies regarding our zero tolerance policy for discrimination and hate.”
The statement added that the employees were immediately terminated “following a full investigation into the incident.”