May 14, 2024
Kristin Hunt/PhillyVoice
Protesters affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace demonstrated outside the offices of the Development Corporation for Israel, which brokers bond investments in the nation.
A group of protesters spilled into the streets of Center City on Tuesday morning, calling on state divestment from Israel.
Jewish Voice for Peace organizers carried signs reading "Jews say divest" and "Genocide funded here" as they stood outside 1511 Walnut St. Their target was not PNC Bank, but another tenant in the building: the Development Corporation for Israel, which brokers bond investments in the nation. The group called on Pennsylvania to sell off its existing Israel bonds, arguing that the money supports ongoing Israeli offensives in Gaza, which have killed an estimated 35,000 people, more than half of whom were women and children.
Pennsylvania's bond investments in Israel span over 30 years, and now stand at $56 million. State Treasurer Stacy Garrity increased the state's investment by $20 million shortly after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
"We believe what Israel is doing is wrong," said Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, an organizer with POWER Interfaith. "It is murder, it is violent, and buying Israel bonds is a direct support to the Israeli government, and we want the state of Pennsylvania to stop supporting the murder and violence that is taking place in Gaza right now."
After speeches by Liebling and others, the crowd marched west on Walnut Street. There was heavy police presence in the area. No arrests had been reported as of 11:15 a.m.
Philadelphia police had multiple buses and major incident response team vehicles parked near the demonstration site.
In a statement, the Development Corporation for Israel characterized the demonstration as a "very small group of individuals outside our offices shouting hateful slogans." It "has enjoyed unprecedented support since October 7th, raising more than $3 Billion worldwide," the statement continues, and "look(s) forward to building on this success in the months ahead and continuing to make clear that boycott efforts are doomed to fail."
Garrity added in a separate statement that she was "proud to continue that long-standing tradition" of investing in Israel, calling the country "America’s greatest ally in the Middle East."
The protest came less than a week after police arrested 33 people while breaking up the pro-Palestine encampment at the University of Pennsylvania. During an April 15 protest that blocked traffic on several Philadelphia roads, state and city police arrested 68 people.
The demonstrators on Walnut Street called on both candidates for Pennsylvania treasurer — Garrity and her Democratic challenger Erin McClelland — to commit to selling off the state's Israel bonds and halt any future investments. McClelland called Garrity's investment in Israel "stupid," "irresponsible" and "politic opportunism" Tuesday; she said she would sell the bonds, if elected, for appropriate value.
Any people and others institutions with bonds, Liebling said, also should divest.
While most of protesters gathered outside 1511 Walnut St., a smaller group stood on a nearby crosswalk with signs reading 'People of conscience at work.'
"Both of my parents were Holocaust survivors," he said. "I grew up knowing about violence and murder. My grandparents were murdered. My aunts and uncles were murdered. And it is abominable to me that the Israeli government would engage in this scale of violence murdering innocent civilians.
"Criticizing the state of Israel and supporting Palestinians is not antisemitism. ... We need a drastic change."
This story has been updated with statements from the Development Corporation for Israel, Stacy Garrity and Erin McClelland.
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