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Halla Anderson
Halla Anderson signed an anti-Israel statement in October 2023 during Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists, launched after the October 7, 2023, terror attacks.
Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped hundreds more that day. For more information, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
Alumni and students at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) organized the statement, which blamed the war on Israel’s existence.
Halla Anderson indicated on the statement that she received a master's degree in social policy (MSPP) from SP2 in 2023.
As of February 2025, Halla Anderson's LinkedIn profile said she was studying for a master's degree in social work (MSW) from Columbia University (Columbia), slated to graduate in May 2025. Columbia is located in New York, New York.
As of February 2025, Halla Anderson's Linkedin also said had been working as the "Editor and Chief" at the Columbia Social Work Review since September 2024.
As of the same date, Halla Anderson's Instagram account bio said: "Abolitionist, ANTIFA, Activist."
Antifa is a violent, radical organization opposed to fascism and informed by political ideologies such as communism and anarchism. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice designated the group’s activities as “domestic terrorism,” and between 2020 and 2023 dozens of Antifa activists were arrested and sentenced to prison for their violent acts.
On October 31, 2023, 120 students and alumni of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) signed a petition accusing Israel of "ongoing genocidal violence" in its war against Hamas, launched after the October 7, 2023, terror attacks.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped hundreds and wounded thousands. War crimes included mass rape and torture. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.”
The SP2 student and alumni statement blamed Israel for the war. Referencing the 75 years since Israel had been founded in 1948, the statement said: "We are in unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people in their movement for safety and liberation. We recognize the critical context of the 75-year Israeli military occupation of Palestine as the root cause of the ongoing loss of both Palestinian and Israeli lives."
The statement accused Israel of "settler colonialism" multiple times. It further claimed Israel's war against Hamas was a "genocide" that was an example of "settler colonial violence" and "racialized violence."
The statement also demanded "an end to the siege on Gaza," alleging that Gaza was an "open-air prison," a reference to the 2011 UN-approved [pp. 39–41] joint blockade of the Gaza Strip by Egypt and Israel to stop Hamas from acquiring more sophisticated rockets. Hamas went around the blockade by smuggling weaponry through tunnels under the Philadelphi corridor separating Gaza from Egypt.
