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

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Police on Monday took into custody about 200 people protesting the Pennsylvania state government’s investments in Israel, halting 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.

Protest organizers said some were cited for failure to disperse and released shortly afterwards.

The demonstrators, many wearing T-shirts that read “Reject Genocide,” clapped and sang during the protest, which organizers said was aimed at the Finance Ministry’s investments in Israeli bonds.

A large sign stated that the state must reinvest that tax money in health care, housing, schools and climate. Before and after their arrest, there were chants of ‘free Palestine’.

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

Lilah Saber of Jewish Voice for Peace said the protest focused solely on the state’s investments in Israeli bonds.

“We didn’t mean to get arrested, but we did get arrested,” Saber said.

Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a Republican, said treasurers from both parties have invested in Israeli bonds for more than 30 years. The state’s stake in Israeli bonds rose by $20 million after the Hamas attack that started the war in Gaza and currently stands at $56 million, Garrity said in a statement from her office.

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