GOP Jewish PAC's ad puts spotlight not only on Trump, Harris, but Main Line deli

A popular Main Line deli is the setting for a recent ad that tries to convince Jewish voters to support former Republican President Donald Trump over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in November's presidential election.

A busy, well-lit restaurant is seen at the start of the ad, which dropped on YouTube on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. The focus is on three women seated at a booth.

"Did you watch the news lately?" one woman - described by the ad's creators as a "Bubbie" (the Yiddish word for grandmother) -- asks the others. "Israel's under attack, antisemitism like I never thought I would see."

Another woman talks of an antisemitic incident on a college campus before one of them asks, "what about Kamala?"

"Busy defending the squad," another woman says as viewers hear an "oy vey" (a popular Yiddish term used to express dismay).

The first woman to speak says she never cared for Trump, but felt safe with him, while another exclaims "I never voted Republican in my life, but I am voting Trump."

The ad ends with the women raising their mugs to exclaim "amen."

It might just seem like the latest in a seemingly endless stream of presidential political ads that have inundated airwaves and online streams in the Philadelphia region as Democrat Harris and Republican Trump battle for swing-state Pennsylvania's coveted 19 electoral votes.

However, to keen eyes of patrons of Hymie's Delicatessen in Merion, Pennsylvania, this ad features their beloved Jewish-style deli (even if the pickle bar is out of view).

The ad from the Pro-Trump Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund is titled "Deli Talk" and is part of a $15 million ad buy the PAC hopes will serve as a "closing argument" to sway Jews on Philadelphia's Main Line and beyond to vote for Trump.

"Jewish voters, some of whom have never voted for a Republican in their lives, understand the incredibly high stakes in this election," RJC CEO Matt Brooks said in a news release. "We encourage Jewish voters to listen to their Bubbies: it's OK to vote for Donald Trump."

However, not everyone is OK with Hymie's -- self-described as "a Main Line hub for classic NY-style deli fare for over 60 years" with a "passion to bring Philly families together to the table for classic deli comfort food that feeds the soul." -- seemingly diving into politics and picking sides.

However, Hymie's Deli owner/operator Lou Barson claims that isn't the case, telling Philadelphia Magazine that he only allowed the ad to be filmed at Hymie's as a favor for a friend.

“Only a person who eats at Hymie’s would know this was shot at Hymie’s,” Barson told Philly Mag. “This is not a statement that Hymie’s is endorsing Donald Trump. That is not the case. I would gladly let Kamala Harris film an ad here tomorrow.”

Barson -- who has yet to return NBC10's message left for him to comment on the ad -- told the magazine he is a registered independent who wishes he had another viable candidate to support.

Will voters who support Harris, rather than Trump, continue to grab all-day breakfast or "Deli-licious Sandwiches" at Hymie's? That is the exact conversation playing out on social media pages and social gatherings around the region.