(PHILADELPHIA, PA, 10/15/2024) – The Philadelphia Chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Philadelphia) today condemned the recent act of vandalism targeting a memorial set up by the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Penn State University to honor the martyrs of Palestine. CAIR-PA also called on community members to send letters to the administration urging them to take action and investigate this incident.
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The memorial, established in accordance with Penn State policies and with all necessary approvals from the Penn State administration, was defaced on Thursday, October 10 by anti-Palestinian students in a blatant attempt to intimidate and silence voices advocating for Palestinian rights.
The memorial served as a solemn tribute to the innocent lives lost in the ongoing genocide and was designed to foster awareness and spark conversation among the student body. The SJP at Penn State planted 18,600 white flags on campus lawn, with each flag representing 10 Palestinian lives lost due to the genocide. Anti-Palestinian students removed the flags, ran over the flags with their bikes, and vandalized other components of the memorial.
The SJP at Penn State held several events last week commemorating the loss of Palestinian lives and faced harassment by other students throughout the week. SJP held events in accordance with Penn State policies and received all necessary approvals from the Penn State administration. Despite being harassed, made fun of, and called derogatory slurs by other Penn State students, the SJP members never harassed, pushed, shoved or retaliated against those students except for asking the other students to stop vandalizing their memorial.
“We are deeply troubled by this incident, which is a clear attempt to stifle the voices of those standing in solidarity with Palestine,” said Adam Alaa Attia, Esq, the Legal Director of CAIR-Philadelphia. “This act reflects a growing trend of intolerance and hostility toward Muslim and pro-Palestinian students, who deserve the same rights and protections as any other student group on campus.”
In a statement, the Executive Board of SJP at Penn State said:
“We are dedicated to continue to voice our opposition to the ongoing genocide in Palestine. We commend our members and fellow students for responding to the harassment we faced with maturity and within Penn State rules. No matter efforts to negatively frame our community and detract from actual harassment we experienced, we will continue to follow Penn State policies and procedures to ask our school to properly support SJP and anti-genocide students against harassment and intimidation.”
CAIR-Philadelphia stands in solidarity with the SJP and all students at Penn State who are working to amplify the voices of marginalized communities. We remain committed to advocating for the rights of Muslim, Palestinian, Arab students and other underrepresented groups, and we call on all members of the campus community to condemn this act of hate.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR-Philadelphia Legal Director Adam Alaa Attia, aattia@cair.com; CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Ahmet Tekelioglu, atekelioglu@cair.com, 617-401-5397.
