After announcing the formation of the Philadelphia SJP Coalition last week, the newly-formed alliance of SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine) groups from colleges all across the Philadelphia area hosted their first demonstration for Palestine together. October 7, the date of the rally, was also the one-year anniversary of the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Under bright blue skies, chants began promptly at 2:00 p.m. The crowd swelled in size as groups of college students showed up in cohorts, each representing their respective institution. Amidst the crowd was an array of brightly colored keffiyehs as protesters gathered to the steady beat of familiar protest drums. Police were present during this time, though they kept their distance.
Many protestors carried signs shaped like open books, each with the name of a Palestinian university that has since been destroyed in the war and important information about the university. Borne by college students, these signs signaled solidarity between college students across international borders.
Before marching, speakers representing different colleges within the Coalition got up to share some words. One speaker explained the goals of the Coalition more in depth, while others led chants. One speaker spoke specifically to engineering majors at Drexel University, urging them to avoid taking jobs with prominent weapons manufacturers.
Around 3:00 p.m., protesters took to the streets, making their way through the heart of Drexel University en masse. In addition to commonly heard chants such as “Free, free Palestine!” protesters voiced support for Al-Qassam, the military branch of Hamas, urging them to “make us proud.” None of the police officers present engaged in retaliation.
Over the course of the next hour and a half, the march wound its way through the Penn Medical complex, crossing the University Avenue bridge to gather outside the Pennovation building. Pennovation houses Ghost Robotics, a robotics and software company that protestors have accused of selling surveillance robots to Israel during the way. On the way, police closely flanked the marchers on the street, creating a single-file line with their bicycles along the adjacent sidewalks. Many passersby also engaged with the demonstrators, most commonly by taking video. Two onlookers unfurled an Israeli flag while the march passed through the UPenn campus.
Once outside the Pennovation building, the march was met with a line of police in riot gear. Many protesters chose to leave then due to fear of a police escalation. According to a video posted on the Philadelphia SJP Coalition’s Instagram page, there was further engagement with the police but no physical retaliation shown. When asked about their attendance at the rally, a Bryn Mawr student protestor said hope the Coalition will “help students connect with each other across campuses for the same mission” and “reaffirm… the commitment to Palestinian liberation.”
