INSIDE: ADVANCED REGISTRATION GUIDE
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA • FOUNDED 1885
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2024
VOL. CXL
NO. 24
‘RAIDED’
Penn executes search warrant on alleged home of pro-Palestinian student organizers
ABHIRAM JUVVADI | PHOTO EDITOR
Penn Police executed a search warrant on Oct. 18 at an off-campus house that pro-Palestinian activists allege belongs to student activists at the University. EMILY SCOLNICK Senior Reporter
Penn Police executed a search warrant at an off-campus residence allegedly home to pro-Palestinian student activists — sparking concern from several community groups and politicians. Penn’s Division of Public Safety confirmed in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian that police officers executed the warrant on Friday “at an off-campus location.” At least 12 Penn Police officers and one Philadelphia Police Department officer wearing tactical gear “raided the home” of pro-Palestinian Penn student organizers at 6 a.m. on Oct. 18, according to an Instagram post on Oct. 21 by Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine. The DP could not confirm the identity of the individuals involved in the incident. The warrant was reviewed by
the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office, approved by a bail commissioner, and “executed following all proper policies and procedures,” DPS said. A spokesperson for the DA’s office confirmed to the DP that it had “reviewed and approved a search warrant for a location in West Philadelphia” on Oct. 16 in connection with an “ongoing investigation” led by Penn Police and DPS. “No request to approve charges has been submitted by Penn Police to our office at this time,” the spokesperson wrote. “If and when that time arrives, we will carefully review the evidence submitted by the appropriate law enforcement authorities and make a fair and just determination.”
The search warrant is related to an incident that took place on Sept. 12, according to The Intercept, when red paint was thrown onto the Benjamin Franklin statue on College Green. At the time, an autonomous group of pro-Palestinian activists claimed responsibility for the vandalism. DPS wrote to the DP that the investigation remains active, according to DPS. The DP has been unable to obtain a copy of the warrant to clarify the terms of the University’s search despite multiple requests. Philadelphia Police directed the DP to DPS in response to a request for comment. According to PAO’s post, officers “stormed the house in full tactical gear” after allegedly pointing a gun at
a neighbor and threatening to break down the door and “point[ed] rifles and handguns” at residents’ heads as they exited their rooms. The post alleged that officers did not show a warrant or provide their names or badge numbers. “[O]ne student was separated and taken in for questioning,” PAO wrote in its statement. “Police also seized this student’s personal device on suspicion of vandalism. This student was released shortly after: no charges were given. No arrests were made.” PAO called the raid “Penn’s most egregious escalation in its campaign to silence anti-genocide activists calling out Penn’s institutional ties to the genocide of See WARRANT, page 3
Penn Jewish Voice for Peace, Chavurah build Gaza Solidarity Sukkah at Women’s Center
Campus vandalized with Hamas leader commemoration, derogatory ‘death threats’
The new JVP chapter was founded by a College sophomore and graduate student
At least six instances of anti-Zionist vandalism were found over the past week
SAMANTHA HSIUNG Senior Reporter
BEN BINDAY AND NINA RAWAL News Editor and Staff Reporter
Penn’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace and Penn Chavurah hosted a “Gaza Solidarity Sukkot” on Oct. 22. Students gathered in the backyard of the Penn Women’s Center on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to commemorate the lives lost in Gaza. The event took place during the weeklong Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which celebrates the fall harvest. During the holiday, practicing Jews live and eat meals in a sukkah — a booth-like dwelling with a roof made from plant material. JVP founder and graduate student Maddy Kessler said that the goal of the sukkah was to “create a space on campus anyone can join and be in community for Palestine.” “We want everyone welcome and for Jewish students to know that there’s alternatives to Zionism and that we can have a viable alternative community that exists beyond Zionism,” Kessler said. The event began with participants building the sukkah and decorating it with a poster reading “Gaza Solidarity
Sukkah.” Outside of the sukkah, they placed a poster that said “Stop Arming Israel.” Other decorations included paper links, lights, and the Palestinian flag. Posters with photos and descriptions of “the victims of [the] genocide,” as described by a sophomore co-founder lined the frame of the sukkah. This founder requested anonymity due to fear of personal harassment. A separate College sophomore and member of JVP, who requested anonymity due to fear for personal safety, said that Sukkot has “always been about community,” adding that they have struggled find community recently. “I don’t feel safe or in community with a lot of people in a lot of other Jewish organizations on campus,” the sophomore member said. “I think it’s really meaningful to be able to have a place where we can go, where we can celebrate the values of Sukkot, the community and everything, even more so in this time where it’s amplified how much we need to be able to be a community with each other.” See SUKKAH, page 6
Unknown individuals vandalized at least six locations on and near Penn’s campus this week, many of which praised former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and one which called to “KILL ZIOS.” Over the weekend, three signs on campus — located at the ARCH building, Annenberg Public Policy Center — were vandalized with text reading “SINWAR LIVES” and an upside-down triangle. In the three recent acts — two of which were discovered on Oct. 21 and one of which was discovered on the morning of Oct. 23 — the text read “KILL YOUR LOCAL ZIO NAZI,” “KILL ZIOS!,” “SINWAR LIVES,” and “SINWAR STRIKES BACK.” All instances included upside-down triangles. In response to a request for comment from The Daily Pennsylvanian on the three most recent incidents, a University spokesperson wrote that “the vile language in the graffiti is inconsistent with Penn’s values.” Penn’s Division of Public Safety did not respond to a request
There will be record high voter turnout this year. You have the right to vote. If anyone tries to stop you, call the Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).
SEND STORY IDEAS TO NEWSTIP@THEDP.COM
ONLINE AT THEDP.COM
for comment on the incidents. “If campus policies were violated by a member of our community, consequences for the perpetrator(s) will be pursued,” the University spokesperson said. Earlier in the week, after the first three incidents, the spokesperson said that “this incident is being investigated.” Sinwar, the former leader of Hamas, was killed in Gaza by the Israeli military on Oct. 16. Sinwar played a central role in the planning of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, during which Hamas killed approximately 1,200 individuals and took another 250 hostage. The upside-down triangle, which is typically red in color, has previously been used as a symbol for a number of notable purposes. It has been used by the pro-Palestinian movement to represent solidarity with Palestinians, by the military wing of Hamas to identify See VANDALISM, page 3
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov 5, 2024. Paid for by VoteAmerica.org CONTACT US: 215-422-4640