On Thursday, scores of anti-Israel demonstrators at the University of Pennsylvania invaded the campus green space and set up camp, as the Ivy League joined the list of schools overrun by protesters.
Jewish students at UPenn told the Post that although the protests were largely peaceful, they feared the situation could get out of control.
“It’s basically changing from what’s happening at Columbia and other schools,” Abraham Franchetti, a second-year journalism student, told the Post.
“I think the bottom line is they need to clear out this encampment, just like the people at the University of Texas at Austin did,” he said. “These people are a distraction, a threat, and a source of fear to actual dues-paying students. And whether these are actually University of Pennsylvania students camping on the lawn? It’s not even clear.”
Franchetti and other students told the Post that a significant number of the demonstrators were not UPenn students, but participants from a larger group of several other organizations that marched from Center City, Philadelphia. He said it was.
About 200 people gathered, waving Palestinian flags and chanting popular rallying cries such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” students told the paper.
According to university officials, the tents were set up by 5 p.m.
Another Jewish student, who declined to give his name, said he saw other Jewish students being approached by protesters asking if they supported Zionism. He said one student wearing a kippah was refused entry to the protest area.
Campus security didn’t seem to have a plan to deal with the influx of people, he said.
Another fourth-year student, who also did not want to be named, told the Post that he was in class near the college green when he heard a commotion outside.
“There was no violence like we’ve seen on other campuses. Penn has done a very good job of cordoning off certain areas and setting up a lot of security,” he said.
He said if the university doesn’t quickly address the protests, as the University of Southern California announced today citing safety concerns in the wake of its own protests, the protests could snowball and the University of Pennsylvania He said he was particularly concerned that this could lead to the cancellation of graduation ceremonies.
The undergraduate class of 2024 is the same class whose high school graduation ceremonies were taken away from them by the coronavirus pandemic.
“I hope it doesn’t get that far,” he said, but believes the demonstrations will definitely last more than a day.
Professor Franchetti said it has been embarrassing at times for Jewish students on campus since demonstrations first began after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.
“I think it can be really scary, especially when people who aren’t children or students show up and cry intifada,” Franchetti said, adding that the situation appeared to be improving in recent months until Thursday. He pointed out.
Another student who spoke to the Post said she has felt a “feeling of isolation” among her Jewish classmates in recent months.
“Although the majority of students were perfectly fine, a small number of students were openly hostile to students who did not share their radical pro-Palestinian beliefs,” he said.
The senior, who is not Jewish but has Jewish and Palestinian friends, said there has been a lot of unrest since October, but “tension on campus has really subsided.” But this week, he said, the rhetoric has gone up a notch across the country amid mass demonstrations.
“From a student perspective, student safety should be the administration’s top priority,” he said. He added that the administration is “trying to make progress” in addressing anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, but leaders need to take the lead.
A UPenn spokesperson told the Post that the school “respects and supports the right of community members to peacefully protest,” but that it “respects and supports the right of community members to peacefully protest,” but that “free expression and the right to protest on campus.” is not absolute and can never be absolute,” he added.
“Protests and speech will not be tolerated if they violate Penn policies, disrupt university business, or escalate into behavior that contributes to an intimidating, hostile, or violent environment on campus.” the spokesperson added.
The school promised that “there will be consequences” for anyone who violates university policy or violates the law.
Philadelphia police confirmed to the Post Thursday night that no arrests had been made.
Former UPenn President Liz McGill resigned in December, under increasing pressure from university donors and the White House following damning Congressional testimony that the school failed to protect Jewish students after Oct. 7. I resigned.
