After two weeks, countless hours and verbal conflagrations between protesters and counterprotesters, the University of Pennsylvania disbanded the anti-Israel encampment on its campus on May 10. Thirty-three people were arrested by Philadelphia and Penn police.
The decision came less than two days after the encampment expanded to another open field on College Green. In response to the expansion, Van Pelt Library, Penn Hillel and other buildings around the green enhanced security and closed their doors, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Those disruptions came during finals. Penn’s graduation is set for May 20. Protesters ignored multiple calls from Penn Interim President J. Larry Jameson to disband the encampment.
“At approximately 5:30 a.m. this morning, Penn Police, with support from the Philadelphia Police Department, took steps to remove the unauthorized encampment on College Green. Protestors were given multiple warnings that they were trespassing and offered the opportunity to voluntarily leave and avoid citation. Those who chose to stay did so knowing that they would be arrested and removed. Approximately 33 individuals were arrested without incident and cited for defiant trespass,” read a statement from Penn on May 10.
The protesters wanted Penn to disclose its financial investments and perhaps reveal any ties to Israeli companies. Then, if said companies were profiting from the war in Gaza, the students and local organizers wanted Penn to divest from them.
Nneka A, one of the organizers of the encampment, admitted that she had no idea if Penn even had such relationships.
“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” she told the Jewish Exponent on May 2. “We know that the university does receive funding from donors who are pro-Israel.”
Nneka A, who was chosen by other protesters as a media liaison, admitted that some of the protesters supported Hamas. Hamas is a designated terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union and calls for annihilating Jews in its founding charter. It is also still holding more than 100 hostages from the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“Anti-colonial struggle is a violent endeavor. It’s an imperfect struggle. Hamas has its stance. There are some things that us in the movement disagree with. That being said, Hamas is for the protection of the Palestinian people,” Nneka A said on May 2.
The day before the police went in, Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, called for them to do just that. After speaking in Hempfield Township outside Pittsburgh to announce a $2.5 million state investment in an industrial park, Shapiro was responding to questions during a press conference.
He didn’t hold back.
“All students should feel safe when they’re on campus. All students have a legal right to feel safe on campus,” Shapiro said, according to The Bedford Gazette. “The University of Pennsylvania has an obligation to their safety. It is past time for the university to act, to address this, to disband the encampment and to restore order and safety on campus.”
Shapiro decided to call for the disbandment after the encampment expanded across College Green on May 8, according to his spokesman Manuel Bonder.
“Over the last 24 hours at the University of Pennsylvania, the situation has gotten even more unstable and out of control,” Shapiro said. “More rules have been violated, more laws have been broken.”
A Philadelphia Inquirer report stated that Shapiro knew before he spoke that the police would be moving in. However, Bonder called that report false.
“After Penn’s weeks-long efforts to engage protestors were met with further escalation, today, the University of Pennsylvania’s leadership made the right decision to dismantle the encampment,” Bonder said. “We thank the City of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Police Department and University of Pennsylvania Police Department for their professional work to resolve the situation quickly and peacefully.”
(Photo by Jarrad Saffren)
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey praised the decision during an announcement about educational funding at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History on May 10.
“Protest is something we protect constitutionally,” he said. “But at some point, when a protest begins to affect the ability of others to get to class or in this case with an impending graduation, it begins to infringe upon others’ rights.”
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia also praised the decision.
“While free speech and critical thinking are essential tenets both on and off college campuses, it had become increasingly clear over the past two weeks that the encampment fostered an atmosphere of intimidation and harassment, particularly towards Jews on campus,” read a statement from the Jewish Federation. “At a time when antisemitism is at an all-time high, institutions of higher education have a responsibility to ensure that the safety and well-being of Jewish students and faculty is protected.”
