This story is developing and will continue to be updated.
At least three individuals were arrested during a pro-Palestinian protest outside the University’s Pennovation Works campus on Monday, the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
The group of protesters rallied at Drexel Square Park and then marched to Pennovation Works — located at 34th Street and Grays Ferry Avenue — before arriving outside the property around 4:45 p.m. Penn students and hundreds of supporters of the Philadelphia chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine staged the march toward the Grays Ferry neighborhood, where Pennovation Works is located, after gathering near Drexel's campus rally marking one year since Oct. 7.
Along the march route and upon arriving at the Pennovations Work campus, protesters were met with significant Philadelphia Police Department presence, with officers wearing riot gear, holding clubs, and warning protesters of a high risk of arrest.
The arrests of the three individuals came amid a skirmish between police and protesters, some of whom used flares to burn canvas. The Daily Pennsylvanian was unable to confirm if the individuals arrested were affiliated with Penn. Requests for comment were left with the University and the Philadelphia Police Department; Penn’s Division of Public Safety directed the DP to PPD for comment.
The Pennovation Works facility houses several companies, including 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.
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 the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The rally and march, titled “One Year of Genocide,” began at 2 p.m. and is the first planned action by Philadelphia SJP, which formed earlier this month and consists of students from Penn, Drexel University, Temple University, and other universities across the city. In an Instagram post, organizers called for participants to skip class and call out of work on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks to “protest one year of the Zionist entity’s genocide in Gaza” in support of “the student intifada.”
A UPennAlert was sent to the University community around 3 p.m., when the group began marching in the direction of Penn’s campus. It referred to the rally as a “scheduled demonstration” and said that the group is “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 this time.
A second alert was sent around 3:30 p.m. telling the community that the march is 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 reads, and it encourages people to avoid the area.
The rally began around 2 p.m. around 30th and Market streets and was ongoing after an hour. Protesters chanted and drummed, and some speakers intermittently gave speeches. Several speakers made specific references to the Oct. 7 attacks, as well as to more recent military conflict between Lebanon and Israel.
Several Penn students — including some heavily involved with the Gaza Solidarity Encampment that took place on Penn's campus last spring — are present at the demonstration.
As the group moved west on Market Street, Philadelphia Police Department vehicles and officers on bikes are diverting traffic at upcoming intersections. Security officers installed barricades along the width of Locust Walk, and The Daily Pennsylvanian 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 Library. 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 after Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and took another 250 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 are organizing a full day of programming to commemorate the anniversary of the attacks and honor those still being held hostage in Gaza. Penn Chabad will also host an event this evening and has organized a Mitzvah Wall on Locust Walk.
The Muslim Students Association will hold a memorial later tonight in the ARCH building, which will be open to the public following time for prayer.
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