Pennsylvania Shuts it Down for Palestine, February 5. 2024
From Insta of: jpiette660
On February 5, hundreds of members of CAIR, the Philly Palestine Coalition, and JVP, along with Arab and Muslim community members and allies from across Pennsylvania rallied at the Capitol in Harrisburg to demand the state divest from genocide and invest in our communities.
Hundreds occupied the main Rotunda steps in the Pennsylvania Capitol Building to demand the state divest from Israeli bonds and invest in Pennsylvania.
State troopers and other police agencies took 185 demonstrators away with their hands zip-tied, later releasing them with citations.
As Pennsylvanians, we work hard every day to invest in our communities and improve the lives of our families and neighbors–and our government should do the same.
But instead of investing in improving our communities, Pennsylvania elected officials are giving into special interests by investing our tax dollars in genocide and war by irresponsibly investing millions in Israel Bonds.
The Pennsylvania Treasury recently invested an additional $20 million of taxpayer dollars in Israel Bonds–bringing the total amount invested to $56 million.
This money directly enables the Israeli military and government to commit genocide of Palestinians and oppress Palestinians by upholding a brutal, separate-and-unequal apartheid system. The Israeli military has used these funds to kill over 25,000 Palestinians in this recent genocidal assault, with half being children. Pennsylvanians want our government to invest in our communities–not genocide and war.
Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity unilaterally made the decision to invest an additional $20 million in genocide and war via Israel Bonds, shortly after joining a financial advisory board for the Israel Bonds corporation. Stacy Garrity should invest in improving the lives of our communities–not gambling our taxpayer money to appease special interest groups.
Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity’s decision to invest public funds in Israel Bonds is both ethically and fiscally indefensible. Not only is an investment in Israel Bonds an investment in genocide of Palestinians–it’s a terrible investment of taxpayer money.
Divest from Genocide, Invest in PA!
