A University of Pennsylvania student has been arrested for allegedly stealing an Israeli flag just weeks after praising Hamas for its “glorious October 7 incursion.”
Tara Tarawneh is accused of stealing the flag from the facade of a Campus Apartments house near the university’s campus last month. She was arrested Nov. 4 and later charged with theft and receiving stolen property, court records show.
The junior student – who previously described feeling “so powerful and so happy” after Hamas launched its attack on Israel – was summoned to court on November 5, where her bail was set at $0.
Penn’s Division of Public Safety (DPS) has reportedly classified the theft as a “bias incident.” But theft is not classified as a hate crime under Pennsylvania law and cannot be prosecuted as such.
The theft comes as Tarawneh has sparked outrage online over a hate-filled speech she gave last month at a rally in Philadelphia, in which she praised the “joyful and powerful images that emerged from the glorious October 7 Hamas attack.”
Tara Tarawneh (pictured) was arrested on November 4 for allegedly stealing the flag from the front of a Campus Apartments home near the University of Pennsylvania campus on October 28. She has been charged with theft and receiving stolen property, court documents show.
Tarawneh recently sparked outrage online over a hate-filled speech she gave last month at a rally in Philadelphia (pictured), in which she praised the “joyful and powerful images that emerged from the glorious October 7 Hamas attack.”
Tarawneh allegedly stole the flag from a home near the Ivy League school’s campus on October 28 at 5:15 p.m.
Police were notified of the theft two hours later and after investigation identified Tarawneh as their suspect. The Daily Pennsylvanian reported.
The student turned herself in on Nov. 4 and the Philadelphia district attorney’s office charged her with theft by unlawfully taking and receiving stolen property. Her arraignment took place the next day.
The case against Tarawneh is currently active and awaiting a status hearing. MailOnline has contacted her lawyer for comment.
Meanwhile, DPS has reportedly provided “support services” to the students affected by the theft and is “coordinating support” for other individuals who may have been affected.
UPenn confirmed that Tarawneh was a student and was charged over the incident, but declined the newspaper’s request for further comment because it was a “criminal matter.”
The alleged theft comes after a video surfaced showing Tarawneh praising Hamas for its attack on southern Israel.
The one-minute video, shared by Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres, apparently shows herself giving a speech to a large group of people, some of whom are waving Palestinian flags.
The speaker rallies the crowd and says, “Do you remember the photos of the children and men laughing and smiling as they sat atop the Israeli military jeep captured by our freedom fighters?
‘Do you remember that photo? What about the photos of the bulldozers breaking through the deadly barrier? Do you remember that picture?
Tarawneh previously described feeling “so powerful and so happy” after Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7. The photo shows burned and abandoned cars after the attack.
Pictured: An armed Palestinian militant walks around the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Reim in the Negev Desert in southern Israel on October 7
“And the various other joyful and powerful images that emerged from the glorious October 7th?
“I want you to picture that in your mind. I want you all to remember how you felt when you saw those images and heard the news.
‘I remember feeling so powerful and happy, so confident that victory was close and so tangible.
The speaker concludes her speech by saying, “Keep that feeling in your heart… channel it through every action you take… go out into the streets every day and never let them get the feeling that you are quietly accepting this genocide. ‘
Social media users have reacted with outrage to the clip and made their feelings known on X, formerly known as Twitter.
User Merrick Lackner wrote: ‘Pleased. Glorious. Exciting. I support Israel, but I don’t feel any of these adjectives when I see Gazans dying in airstrikes. Sick that anyone could remember the 7th with such terms.”
Republicans vs. Trump, a conservative group with an audience of 500,000, wrote: ‘Awful. What are you going to do about it @Penn?”
User Seth Koppel wrote: ‘Ashamed of my alma mater.’
Another user wrote: ‘She was happy that an apartheid barrier was being broken down. Nowhere did she say she was happy with dead people.’
Civilians and rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble of a destroyed building after an Israeli bombardment of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 12, 2023
Flares are dropped by Israeli forces over the Palestinian enclave – near Sderot along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip – early November 13, 2023
Palestinians search for bodies and survivors among the rubble of a residential building after an Israeli attack in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on November 12
A number of UPenn employees have received targeted anti-Semitic emails in recent weeks threatening violence against members of the university’s Jewish community.
At a Nov. 3 board meeting, UPenn President Liz Magil said, “Anti-Semitism is on the rise again in our society. There have been swastikas and hateful graffiti on our campus – right here in our homes.
“There have been chants at rallies, captured on video and widely distributed, that glorify Hamas’s terrorist atrocities, that celebrate and praise the slaughter and kidnapping of innocent people, and that question Israel’s right to exist.
‘There are more examples from other campuses, and more to come. It’s hard to fully convey how sick, how shocked, and how angry I am.
“I personally condemn these hateful – spiteful – anti-Semitic actions and words, which are nothing short of inhumane. And I assure you that Penn has and will investigate any act of hate on our campus and take full action in accordance with our policies and laws.”