Pennsylvania Capitol protest against state investing in Israel bonds ends with arrests

About 200 people protesting the Pennsylvania state government’s investments in Israel were taken into custody in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg

Pennsylvania Capitol-Israel Protests (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Police took about 200 people protesting the Pennsylvania state government's investments in Israel into custody Monday, shutting down a demonstration on the steps of the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg.

A spokesperson for the Department of General Services, which includes the Capitol Police, said details about any charges and the number of people involved were being gathered.

Organizers of the protest said some were being cited with failure to disperse and released shortly afterward.

The protestors, many wearing T-shirts that said “divest from genocide,” clapped and chanted during the protest, which organizers said was targeted at the state Treasury Department's investment in Israel bonds.

One large sign said the state should reinvest that tax money in healthcare, housing, schools and climate. There were chants of “free Palestine” before and after they were arrested.

The event was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, the Philly Palestine Coalition and the Pennsylvania Council on American-Islamic Relations. It began Monday morning outside the Capitol but moved to the Rotunda by early afternoon.

Lilah Saber with Jewish Voice for Peace said the protest was solely focused on the state's investment in Israel bonds.

“We did not plan on being arrested, but we were arrested,” Saber said.

Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a Republican, said state treasurers of both parties have invested in Israel bonds for more than 30 years. The state's share of Israel bonds rose by $20 million after the Hamas attack that began the war in Gaza and is currently $56 million, Garrity said in a statement released by her office.

The state also holds about $8 million in other Israel-based securities. Together with the $56 million, that amounts to about 0.14% of the funds the Treasury Department actively manages, Garrity said.