Pennsylvania progressives resolute in Palestinian support

(The Center Square) – Recent critical remarks from top-ranking state officials, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, have not deterred Palestinian support among progressive lawmakers and advocacy groups in Pennsylvania.

Earlier this month, Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-Jacobus, and Steven Santarsiero, D-Doylestown, announced a bill to prevent state-funded institutions from divesting from Israel. The legislation explicitly names schools like Penn and Pitt whose encampments made headlines across the globe.

Before the bill itself had even appeared, Palestine supporters mobilized to demand their senators oppose it. Formally introduced as Senate Bill 1260, it awaits consideration from the upper chamber’s State Government Committee – the first of many hurdles to clear before finding its way to Shapiro’s desk, if ever.

“Public support for Palestine is at an all time high, and Pennsylvanians across the state are demanding that our tax dollars stop funding genocide,” said Brian Keisling of the Harrisburg Palestine Coalition, an advocacy group that organized a phone call and letter writing campaign around the bill. “It is an outrage that our elected officials are not only ignoring the will of the people but actively working to outlaw popular policies like divestment from Israel before they can become reality.”

Beyond the political friction the legislation is likely to spark admist the hotly debated Israel-Hamas war, critics say that the bill itself is unenforceable.

“In investment, banking and trade policy, the devil is in the details, and this bill has none,” noted Erin McClelland, Democratic candidate for state treasurer in an email to The Center Square. “It’s not operational.”

McClelland won the nomination on a platform that included criticism for Republican incumbent Stacy Garrity’s management style, which she’s described as “risky” and politically motivated. Following the Hamas attacks in October, Garrity increased the state’s investments in Israel bonds by 44%.

Garrity also stands behind the proposal, telling The Center Square on June 7 that lawmakers should get the bill “done quickly.”

While its path through the Senate appears smoother, the narrowly-divided House will present more obstacles.

“If this bill is voted out of the Senate and comes up for a vote in committee in the House, it will cause a s— show of epic proportions that no Democrat wants to see – especially in an election year where the policy choices we make are being scrutinized by a highly skeptical, but vigilant and well organized subset of the electorate,” said Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Philadelphia.

That subset includes groups like University of Pennsylvania Chavurah and Jewish Voices for Peace, whose base includes more than 7,000 residents.

Legislators across the state have heard calls from interfaith movements opposing Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which after eight months shows no signs of weakening.

Sen. Nikil Saval, D-Philadelphia, who was among a small group of legislators who called for a ceasefire in November, stated that his “resolve has only been strengthened” since that letter was written. He cited Muslims, Jews, Arab-Americans, and Christians among his constituents who have been “deeply distressed” by the war.

Jewish Penn students joined others from MIT and Harvard in addressing Congress in December regarding the war.

“It is unacceptable to punish students and make threats against their lives, livelihoods, and safety in response to their opposition to a government’s actions,” they wrote. “These actions only serve to obfuscate real cases of antisemitism and put Jewish students at even greater risk.”

The issue drags into the spotlight a critical point of divergence between many within the United States about whether opposing the Israeli government is tantamount to antisemitism.

While the Zionist movement to re-establish a Jewish state in Palestine preceded the Holocaust by several decades, the country’s role as a refuge for Jews from the antisemitism which has plagued them in the West has made it an indelible symbol of safety and survival for many.

Supporters view resistance to the occupation as an existential threat to the Jewish people, one which has been articulated by extremist groups both in the West and across the Middle East.

The majority of those advocating for Palestine, however, say they are not employing antisemitic rhetoric. Rather, they are calling for an end to the human rights abuses that are endemic to the current state.

Critics of Israel, including human rights groups and the International Court of Justice, accuse the country of war crimes in the death of over 35,000 Palestinians and destruction of most of the Gaza Strip including homes, schools, hospitals and houses of worship.

Though the broader conflict has been ongoing since Israel’s violent inception in 1948, known to Arabs as the “Nakba,” or catastrophe, the recent onslaught began after Hamas’s brutal Oct. 7 attack which saw the death of 1,200 Israelis and capture of over 200 more.

In a press release for SB 1260, Phillips-Hill argued that the ban would, “ensure that no one can use antisemitic tactics to weaken our resolve to stand with Israel.”

Santarsiero called divestment “wholly unwarranted,” joining the vast majority of elected Democrats who have shown steadfast support for Israel, a major economic partner and ally in a region from which the U.S. has become largely alienated after decades of war.

A March Gallup poll showed that over 55% of the country disapproves of Israel’s actions.

Critical observers say the discrepancy between public opinion and political will largely comes down to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, a super PAC dedicated to promoting Israel’s interests among American politicians.

Though few in numbers, progressive candidates have shown strength with voters against AIPAC-funded candidates in primary races across the country. In Allegheny County, U.S. Rep. Summer Lee made headlines maintaining the Democratic nomination for her House seat against pro-Israel challenger Bhavini Patel.

In Pennsylvania’s presidential primaries, write-ins of “Uncommitted,” a movement to protest President Biden’s Israel policy, earned over 60,000 votes – a margin larger than the one Trump won the state by in the 2016 general election.

AIPAC has spent over $13 million in campaign contributions across the country in the 2024 election cycle so far.