Four individuals were arrested during a pro-Palestinian rally and march outside the University’s Pennovation Works campus on Monday.
Around 400 protesters attended the demonstration, which began at 2 p.m. at Drexel Square Park and was organized by the Philadelphia chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Participants chanted and listened to speakers for an hour before marching to Pennovation Works, located at 34th Street and Grays Ferry Avenue.
The rally and march, titled “One Year of Genocide,” was the first planned action by Philadelphia SJP, a group that formed earlier this month and consists of students from Penn, Drexel University, Temple University, and other universities across the greater Philadelphia area.
In an Instagram post, organizers called for participants to skip class and call out of work on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel to “protest one year of the Zionist entity’s genocide in Gaza” in support of “the student intifada.”
The University and the Division of Public Safety directed The Daily Pennsylvanian to the Philadelphia Police Department for comment.
“We are aware of the demonstration and the possibility of arrests at the Pennovation Works facility at 34th Street and Grays Ferry Avenue,” a PPD spokesperson wrote to the DP. “However, at this time, we do not have information on the number of arrests that may have occurred. We will provide updates as more information becomes available.”
In the time that the march stalled on 34th Street — adjacent to Penn's campus — several Penn students who were involved with the Gaza Solidarity Encampment last spring spoke about their experience with University administration and disciplinary processes.
The protesters arrived outside of the Pennovation Works property at 4:30 p.m. A participant told the crowd that they intended to prevent employees from leaving at the end of the workday by physically blocking the flow of traffic through the property’s main driveway.
“All of the people inside [Pennovation Works], who work to make weapons to massacre children, they can’t get out of f**king work,” a speaker said as the crowd applauded.
Along the march route and upon arriving at the Pennovation Works campus, protesters were met with significant PPD presence. After around 30 minutes, and once programming had concluded, the crowd size outside the Pennovation Works campus decreased. The arrests of the four individuals occurred amid a confrontation between police and protesters, during which a protester lit a canvas sign on fire with a smoke bomb.
During the altercation, several protesters were pushed to the ground and one PPD officer deployed a taser against a student. The DP was unable to confirm if the individuals arrested were affiliated with Penn.
Tensions remained high after the arrests occurred, with PPD officers forcefully pushing the group of protesters away from the gates to the Pennovation Works building. Officers wore riot gear, held clubs, and warned protesters of a high risk of arrest. Dozens of police vehicles surrounded the demonstration for the duration of their time at Pennovation Works.
The majority of pro-Palestinian activists’ criticism was directed at Pennovation Works, which is the home to Ghost Robotics, a company that develops and sells four-legged robots to be used for “data collection, intelligence, security, asset protection, and military-specific uses,” according to the Ghost Robotics website. The Pennovation Works facility also houses several other companies.
Previous demonstrations have called on Penn to cut ties with the company, which protesters allege is selling the robots to the Israeli military to be used in its ongoing war in Gaza.
During the rally, students criticized the role of Philadelphia-area universities in the Middle East conflict — such as existing partnerships with Israeli universities.
"[O]ur universities are not just passive bystanders," a speaker said at the rally. "They are active collaborators in the ongoing colonization, complicit in the machinery of apartheid and genocide."
A UPennAlert was sent to the University community around 3 p.m., when the group began marching in the direction of Penn’s campus. The alert referred to the rally as a “scheduled demonstration” and said that the group was “proceeding west through University City in the direction of Penn’s campus.”
The alert also noted that officers “are not aware of any instances of property damage” along the route at the time.
A second alert was sent around 3:30 p.m., telling the community that the march was moving south on 34th Street “in the direction of campus.”
“Police and security personnel are on site for the safety of all community members,” the alert read, encouraging people to avoid the area.
Throughout the demonstration, protesters chanted, drummed, and delivered remarks. Some speakers sought to draw a connection between forces of oppression in Philadelphia and Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
"They will destroy the homes of Black Philadelphians, such as the UC Townhomes, with the same Caterpillar vehicles as those used by the Israeli occupation forces to destroy the homes of Palestinians and crush the bodies of martyrs under their wheels,” one speaker said.
Chants recited by protesters included, “Israel, Israel, we know you, you murder children too,” and “Refugees will return, Netanyahu you will burn.” At times, rhetoric at the rally expressed support for the actions of militant groups, with speakers expressing support for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, as well as the “al-Aqsa Flood” — Hamas’ name for the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.
New language at Monday’s demonstration also related to the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, in which Israel recently launched a ground offensive after months of rocket launches. Some of this language was in support of the Lebanese militant group, including chants such as, “From Beirut to Jenin, burn the settler colony.”
As the group moved west on Market Street, PPD vehicles and officers on bikes diverted traffic at upcoming intersections. Security officers installed barricades along the width of Locust Walk, and the DP observed an increased police presence at numerous buildings in the area, including College Hall and Fisher-Bennett Hall, while some students reported being unable to enter Van Pelt-Dietrich Library’s main entrance. Officers were seen redirecting other students on their way to class.
This demonstration is one of several events planned on and around Penn’s campus today to recognize one year since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and took another 254 hostage. The anniversary also marks one year since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, during which Israel’s retaliation and subsequent siege on Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly two million people, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Penn Hillel and the Penn Israel Public Affairs Committee organized a full day of programming to commemorate the anniversary of the attacks and honor those still being held hostage in Gaza. Penn Chabad also hosted its own event and organized a Mitzvah Wall on Locust Walk.
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