One pro-Palestine protestor was arrested on Sunday night after a new anti-Israel encampment was constructed at the University of Pittsburgh earlier that day.
The Office of Safety and Emergency Management at Pitt has confirmed on Sunday evening that the Cathedral of Learning remained “closed until further notice” on Monday due to “a protest in the vicinity” of the building.
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The anti-Israel encampment at Drexel University disbanded early on Thursday after President John Fry asked the Philadelphia Police Department to assist with clearing the protestors.
After Fry warned protestors the university planned to act shortly before 5 a.m., the encampment was reportedly cleared by noon, with law enforcement telling 6 ABC that protestors “picked up their belongings for the most part and left by their own free will,” and evidence suggested police would “be able to complete this operation without having to make any arrests, any use of force, anything of that nature.”
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Drexel University President John Fry said in a Saturday statement that harassment, intimidation and other antisocial behavior will not be tolerated following the formation of an anti-Israel encampment on the university’s campus.
An encampment was constructed on Saturday at the Philadelphia campus of Drexel. Those involved with the anti-Israel protest have reportedly claimed they intend to “keep it peaceful.”
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Governor Josh Shapiro introduced updates on May 8 to his administration’s code of conduct that prohibits “scandalous or disgraceful” acts from state employees, a Tuesday Spotlight PA report revealed.
The report noted that Shapiro quietly signed an executive order that changed his administration’s code of conduct for all state employees amid intense public debate over the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
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The University of Pennsylvania confirmed on Friday it called the Philadelphia Police Department to disperse the anti-Israel encampment constructed on its campus, declaring it a threat to public safety for students.
Signed by Interim President Larry Jameson, Provost John Jackson, and Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli, the letter highlighted threats posed by the encampment to normal university operations, including commencement for graduating students.
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Dave McCormick, Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, estimated there are about 500 protesters who remain at at the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the University of Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
McCormick made the remarks following his visit to the Penn campus last week, telling The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show what he witnessed was a “disgrace” and a “travesty.”
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University of Pennsylvania protesters supporting the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the university declared the university’s administration “nefarious” as well as “antagonistic and ableist” on Monday ahead of a third meeting between organizers and the university administrators.
In a social media post directed at the university, issued jointly by Penn student protest groups Up Against the Occupation and Drexel Palestine Coalition, made the claims about the university following an update on the institution’s anti-Israel encampment by Interim President Larry Johnson.
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The Dave McCormick for U.S. Senate campaign released a Friday statement castigating U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) for his failure to condemn the antisemitic encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, deriding the Democrat for engaging a children’s television character on social media rather than condemn the anti-Israel protests.
McCormick’s campaign explained their challenge to Casey in response to “Casey’s continued silence on the antisemitic encampments rocking college campuses across Pennsylvania and the country.”
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State Senator Doug Mastriano on Thursday introduced legislation that would strip state funding from Pennsylvania colleges and universities that become a “safe harbor” for antisemitism in the months since the October 7 attack by Hamas against Israel.
Mastriano introduced SB 1185 in response to the “pro-Hamas and anti-Israel protests and encampments” his office noted “recently took root at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania colleges and universities that benefit from tax dollars.”
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Following his visit to the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the University of Pennsylvania, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick told The Pennsylvania Daily Star Thursday that he will urge senators to “revisit” federal support and tax breaks afforded to top schools if Pennsylvanians send him to Washington, D.C. in November.
McCormick noted that Pennsylvania taxpayers subsidize many schools that boast anti-Israel encampments, either through federal funding or the “huge benefit” of an “enormous endowments” that remain tax exempt.
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Harvard University students sued the university Wednesday over alleged antisemitism on campus.
Harvard University has come under fire for alleged antisemitic incidents on campus, including pro-Palestinian protests that use anti-Israel slogans and the reported mobbing of a Jewish student. The students filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and accused the university of selectively applying its policies on discrimination and allowing Jews to be discriminated against on campus, according to court filings.
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