Around 200 pro-Palestinian protesters marched through Center City in Philadelphia on Thursday before gathering at the University of Pennsylvania to set up an encampment.
What to Know
- Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up on an increasing number of U.S. college campuses following last week’s arrest of more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University.
- The students are calling for universities to separate themselves from any companies that are advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza — and in some cases from Israel itself.
- On April 25, 2024, activists set up tents on the University of Pennsylvania's Philadelphia campus.
The protesters -- described as being made up of students from Penn, Drexel University, Temple University and members of various activist groups -- gathered at City Hall around 2:25 p.m. before continuing towards University City.
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By 5 p.m., the group gathered at Penn’s campus and began erecting tents.
“These children have watched since 2016, since the uprising for Black Lives Matter, have been watching and they are now old enough and they are now demonstrating,” Natalie Ramos-Castillo, one of the protesters and a member of the group Uncommitted PA, told NBC10. “They’re saying enough is enough. We sent them, us as adults, we invested in schools, we said send your children to college. Have them learn. They have learned their history. They know the history of this country. They know the history and the strength of students. And how students have been demonstrating consistently throughout our history. And they are the ones we need to be listening to.”
The protest remained peaceful into Friday morning and there have been no reports of any arrests or injuries.
"As of 5pm this evening, protestors have now set up an encampment on Penn's campus We are closely monitoring the encampment, and at this time, have not received any reports of threatening or violent behavior by the protestors,” a Penn spokesperson wrote to NBC10.
The tents remained overnight into Friday morning.
“We respect and support the rights of our community members to protest peacefully and in keeping with University policy by which we all agree to abide, Penn said. "However, the right to free expression and to protest on our campus is not and can never be absolute. We will not permit protest and speech when it devolves into words and actions that violate Penn’s policies, disrupt University business, or contribute to an intimidating, hostile, or violent environment on our campus."
The protest is one of many that occurred at college campuses across the country this week calling for a cease-fire in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas War. The protesters have also called on their schools to divest from all financial support of Israel.
Divestment usually refers to selling shares in companies doing business with a given country. Divestment has long been a goal of a movement that seeks to limit what it considers hostile operations by Israel and an end to expanding what the United Nations has ruled are illegal settlements.
Now, college protesters are hoping to force their universities to divest to put financial pressure on companies doing business in Israel to meet those two objectives.
During a pro-Palestinian protest at Princeton University Thursday morning, around 100 people gathered on campus and a small number of demonstrators began erecting about a half-dozen tents, which is a violation of the school’s policy, according to a spokesperson for Princeton.
“After repeated warnings from the Department of Public Safety to cease the activity and leave the area, two graduate students were arrested for trespassing,” the spokesperson wrote. “All tents were then voluntarily taken down by protestors. The two graduate students have been immediately barred from campus, pending a disciplinary process.”
Other pro-Palestinian protests in the Philly region occurred Wednesday at Swarthmore College and the University of Delaware. A planned pro-Palestinian protest at Eastern Regional High School in Camden County, New Jersey, was canceled by the school due to concerns over possible violence against Jewish students.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania responded to the protests at Penn, Swarthmore and the University of Pittsburgh:
“As student-led demonstrations against the Israeli government’s assault on the Palestinian people spread across campuses in Pennsylvania, it is imperative that university administrators remember their traditional commitment to free speech and the free exchange of ideas," ACLU of Pennsylvania executive director Mike Lee wrote.
"Since the war in Vietnam, college students have had a vital role in anti-war protests. Tragically, the United States also has a history of the awful consequences that can arise when campus administrators enlist law enforcement to quell speech with force.
"Targeted harassment rooted in racism or bigotry also has no place on college campuses or anywhere else.
"As the ACLU of Pennsylvania has made clear, demonstrations or speech that some may find intolerable is still protected under the First Amendment. The ACLU of Pennsylvania urges college and university administrators to remember the value of open debate and adhere to First Amendment principles as demonstrators express themselves on campus."
Israel launched its Gaza campaign soon after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group that left 1,200 Israelis dead, according to officials, with an estimated 250 people taken hostage. The subsequent military response by Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
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