Chants rang out as a protest marched the length of campus on Walnut Street
Photo Credit: Sarah Mester
By Sarah Mester
Late Monday afternoon on February 17 a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protest of around 100 people marched the length of campus on Walnut Street, disrupting traffic and prompting a heavy policy presence. The march seems to have been organized by Penn Against the Occupation, given their recent promotional Instagram Post. While a large banner at the front of the group and several posters called out the University of Pennsylvania, the crowd did not seem to be primarily of student age. Due to the protest taking place on the street, portions of Walnut Street were closed for the duration of the demonstration.
At 5:10 pm the protest was located at 34th Street and Walnut Street, near Franklin’s Table and Fisher Bennett Hall and by 5:50 pm the crowd had reach 40th Street and Walnut Street, stopping twice for various participants to give speeches once at 38th Street and a second time at 40th Street before the group dispersed. Police presence remained heavy throughout the protest, with 12-15 police vehicles and around two dozen officers on bicycles present. Penn Hillel, which serves as a religious and cultural center for Penn’s Jewish community, had four police cars parked around or near the building.
There were various chants and statements repeated by the crowd:
- Israel is a terrorist state
- Intifada, Intifada, long live the intifada
- Vive, vive, Palestina
- There is only one solution, intifada revolution
- From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free
- The students united will never be defeated
- Occupation is a crime
- While we are walking, bombs are dropping
- Hope, hope, for liberation
- Disclose, divest, we will not stop we will not rest
- There is only one solution
- We will liberate ourselves
- Stop the US war machine
- No more money for Israel’s crimes
- Cut the chains and let them fall
- We the people free them all
- No more money for Israel’s slaughter
- Glory, glory, to our martyrs
- Up, up, with liberation…down, down, with occupation
Some chants were also in a language other than English, presumably Arabic, although none of The Pennsylvanian Post’s news staff on scene could translate the messages. Around five people in the crowd were wearing dark yellow armbands, although what they signified at this specific event was unclear. Rolling Stone noted that during pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University yellow armbands signified someone who was willing to be suspended.
When the protest stopped at 40th Street, a speaker spoke about the gentrification of West Philadelphia by Penn and Drexel and said that “we will not be oppressed anymore”. The protest broke up at 5:50 pm and by 5:55 pm traffic had restarted on Walnut Street and the crowd dispersed quickly.
Israel and Hamas are currently not actively fighting due to a 6-week ceasefire deal that will expire on March 2 unless a second phase can be negotiated. Israel also recently received a shipment of heavy bombs from the U.S. that had been held up by President Biden and then approved by President Trump. Neither Drexel nor Penn have divested from Israel—doing so is potentially illegal under PA law—although Penn rebuffed a student resolution last year calling for divestment.
Sarah Mester is a senior in the College studying Political Science and Classics from San Francisco, CA. She’s the Assistant News Editor for The Pennsylvania Post. Her email is smester@sas.upenn.edu.
