Philly celebrates third annual Palestinian Day of Solidarity at the Art Museum, despite city leaders’ absence

Over 100 people gathered at the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Wednesday for the city’s third annual Palestinian Day of Solidarity — an event that was both a celebration of a long-standing immigrant community as well as a platform for continued grief and outrage over the Israel-Hamas war.

Jude Husein, a Palestinian-born organizer of the event, began the ceremony with a moment of silence for the thousands of civilians and dozens of journalists killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began, and then shifted the focus to what she described as the diversity and resilience of Palestinian-born Philadelphians.

“We are students, doctors, pilots, business owners, poets, musicians, professionals of all kinds — but we pride ourselves on being the greatest of neighbors,” Husein, 25, said. “When our community needs us, we step up.”

Keffiyeh-clad attendees waved large Palestinian flags on the iconic museum steps, while others passed around Middle Eastern sweets to the crowd. At the podium, Husein was joined by a host of multi-faith community members, as well as two elected officials.

But there was one conspicuous absence: representatives from the city itself.

For the last two years, the city cosponsored the Palestinian Day of Solidarity, with Mayor Jim Kenney or one of his representatives present to thank Philadelphia’s Palestinian community, which some estimate around 10,000 people, for their economic and cultural contributions to the city dating back over a century.

After a month of tense negotiations, however, the city distanced itself from the event due to the volatile political climate.

Sponsoring the event this year would be a distraction, officials contended. And in a break from past years, organizers could not use the city’s seal to promote the event.

In the city’s absence, Husein read aloud a written proclamation from the mayor’s office to commemorate the day, but most of the hour-long ceremony focused on uplifting local Palestinians, whom organizers said embraced anyone into their culture, even if they don’t have ethnic ties to the community.

“You are Palestinian now, too,” she told the crowd.

Like many cities, Philadelphia is now in its eighth week of frequent protests, demonstrations, and debates over the conflict overseas. On college campuses and in workplaces, some feel the ideological divide is more intractable than ever, while threats against Arab, Muslim, and Jewish people continue to soar nationwide.

State Sen. Nikil Saval and State Rep. Danilo Burgos — the two elected officials who spoke at the ceremony — expressed support for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. “I pray that the leadership on both sides can sit down at the table and bring peace to their respective communities,” Burgos, who represents a part of North Philadelphia with a dense Palestinian population, told the crowd.

Saval made an apparent reference to the three Palestinian men, including a Haverford College student, who were shot in Vermont last weekend in what authorities are investigating as a possible hate crime: “Everyone has the right to wear the keffiyeh of their homeland, speak Arabic, and be safe.”

A trio of pro-Palestinian groups, including the ANSWER Coalition, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and the Philadelphia Liberation Center, staged a protest through Center City at 6 p.m. that drew over 500 people into the streets, an organizer said. The groups billed the demonstration as part of Palestinian Day of Solidarity in protest of the ongoing carnage in the Gaza Strip.