In the U.S., hundreds of Pennsylvanians rallied at the state Capitol in Harrisburg to demand the state divest millions from Israeli bonds. The protest was led by Jewish Voice for Peace, the Philly Palestine Coalition and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR.
Police arrested at least 126 demonstrators on Monday. State Representative Chris Rabb attempted to shield protesters from arrest and later defended their right to protest, evoking the history of the civil rights struggle and Black History Month.
Rep. Rabb said: “All the things we talk about during Black History Month or Martin Luther King Day, oh, and all the great things that happened, all of those things were far more than inconvenient. They were radical. They were radical. This is a radical expression of one’s First Amendment rights in the people’s House. This is the most ironic place to arrest people for expressing their First Amendment rights.”
