Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office late Wednesday called it “unfortunate” that a 30-hour pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Pittsburgh “devolved into documented violence, vandalism, and antisemitic rhetoric.” The statement from Shapiro press secretary Manuel Bonder came hours after Pitt Divest from Apartheid, the group that organized the encampment, offered a
Through marches, bike rides, die-ins, artmaking, and heated counter-demonstrations, protesters against the war in Gaza remain resolute in their calls for a ceasefire.
A prominent figure in Palestinian humanitarian aid circles visited the Pittsburgh region Thursday, the first stop on a national tour to drum up support for a new nonprofit formed in the wake of the latest Israel-Hamas war. Steve Sosebee, the co-founder and former president of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund,
Karim Alshurafa lost seven family members in the first week of fighting in Gaza. He lost two more the next week. Then, eight more died the week after that. “The number keeps rising,” the Palestinian-American said Wednesday afternoon at a rally outside the Downtown Pittsburgh offices of Pennsylvania’s two U.S.
Pittsburgher Ahmed Arafat grew up in Gaza under the specter of war. Then on Dec. 24, Israel Defense Forces fatally shot his cousin while his cousin’s children watched. The man was waving a white flag at the time, trying to evacuate his home, Arafat said. But Arafat, a tech worker