It ‘stands proudly as a symbol of imperial violence and colonialism’
Pro-Hamas activists at the University of Pennsylvania tossed red paint onto a statue of Benjamin Franklin early Thursday, claiming the Founding Father’s monument “stands proudly as a symbol of imperial violence and colonialism.”
In an Instagram post by Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine, activists posted photos and video of the vandalized statue and told the university its “hands are red” as it’s “complicit in the Palestinian genocide.”
The post said an “autonomous group” was responsible for the defacement, a “visual reminder” of the (alleged) more than “186,000 martyrs” killed in Gaza by Israel.
“The University has tried to supress [sic] the student intifada, supressing [sic] Palestinian voices, all in the name of ‘campus safety,’” the post reads. “There are NO Universities left in Gaza. There are NO first days. The education system of Gaza has been systematically destroyed, and the genocide has only expanded.”
The Penn Division of Public Safety told The Daily Pennsylvanian that “personnel from Facilities and Real Estate Development are working to repair the damage” and that university police are investigating.
View this post on Instagram
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Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine also had called on activists to “shut down” Tuesday’s presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
“As the Zionist entity continues unabated in its extermination campaign across all of occupied Palestine and continues to escalate its settler colonial aggression against Lebanon, the two leading candidates in the 2024 Amerikan presidential race both have made their positions clear: When it comes to supporting genocide, the Republicans and Democrats are as united as ever,” its post on Instagram read.
“While the ruling class of the Amerikan settler colony tunes in to the debate between genocidal mass murderers Trump and Harris, we, the masses of philly and beyond will gather to say NO to genocide, to mass displacement, and to Nakba.”
MORE: Penn faculty, students break down in tears after cops sweep pro-Hamas encampment
IMAGE: Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine/Instagram
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