Image: News_LebanonPalestine_1: Rally in Rittenhouse taken by Elijah Fischer
On the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 25, the Philly Palestine Coalition, in collaboration with Health Workers for Palestine, held a rally and march in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square to protest Israel’s continued military action towards Palestine, Lebanon and other neighboring nations.
On their Instagram, the Philly Palestine Coalition cites the recent Pager Attacks of Sept. 17 and 18 as the reason for the rally, in which Israel remotely detonated a series of explosives planted within pagers primarily used by Hezbollah, according to Al Jazeera.
The attack comes following nearly a year of bloodshed and bombing in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, which has claimed the lives of over 40,000 Palestinians as reported by AP News. Surrounding nations, such as Lebanon and Yemen, have offered military support, as well as humanitarian aid, to Palestine, though activists say Israel’s targeting of Lebanon has more to do with colonial plans for a “Greater Israel” (a plan to expand current Israeli territory into surrounding nations through military force), as reported by L’Orient Today.
Attendees of the rally gathered in spite of gray skies, quickly filling the limits of Rittenhouse Square; some sported keffiyehs, while others draped themselves in Palestinian and Lebanese flags. One attendee wore a shirt citing a line of scripture from Matthews 25:40: “Whatsoever you have done to one of the least of these, you have done to me,” words cited by Jesus Christ about ignoring the plight of the most vulnerable.
Another attendee held a Palestinian flag featuring the name of Aaron Bushnell, the United States soldier who self-immolated in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington back in February as an act of protest against the ongoing genocide. The flag depicts Bushnell, in his fatigues, consumed by flames. The Time Magazine reported Bushnell’s last statement before lighting himself on fire was that, though his act of protest may appear extreme, “compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”
Rallygoers united in chants echoing Bushnell’s last words: “Free, free Palestine, no more money for Israel’s crimes!” Many attendees displayed signs, including clarification that anti zionism is not antisemitism for the Biden-Harris administration to financially cut ties with Israel. Participants then gathered to march up Walnut Street, surrounded by Philadelphia Police Officers in “Strike Force” uniforms. The protestors stopped in front of the controversial Fashion District mall, also referred to as The Gallery, which has been a site of turmoil in recent Philadelphia politics as the proposed location of the new 76ers Arena, with residents of Chinatown voicing concerns of gentrification and displacement. Gathering in front of the mall, protestors chanted, “Our struggles intertwine: who keeps us safe? We keep us safe. When we’re talking about displacement, we’re talking about our home as much as we’re talking about Palestine.”
Healthcare Workers were centered at the protest since Israel’s recent attack on Lebanon left Lebanese healthcare workers horrified at the brutality of the pager detonations, dealing with patients ranging from infants to the elderly with severe facial lacerations as a result of the indiscriminate attacks, according to New Lines Magazine. Speaking at the march, one member of the global Healthcare Workers for Palestine movement said that, “Healthcare workers and infrastructure are a strategic target of the Zionist entity’s goals of genocidal annihilation.” In spite of global outrage towards the barbarity of the Pager Attacks, and the promises of interest towards a ceasefire from the Biden-Harris administration in the face of increasing voter pressure, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has insisted Israel’s military continue its actions towards Lebanon with “full force,” according to NBC News.
Elijah Fischer is a third-year English and Media & Culture major.