Krajewski spoke at and also visited an anti-Israel encampment on the Penn campus. He also warned protesters of an impending police sweep and potential arrests, allowing protesters to reinforce and defend the encampment.
On April 25, 2024, Krajewski spoke [00:00:01] at the Penn Gaza Solidarity Encampment. On the same day, he posted on Instagram: “Students have always risen up against apartheid and genocide…Free Palestine!”
On April 25, 2024, Penn students set up the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” in a central area on campus. The encampment lasted 16 days, until Penn Police and the Philadelphia Police Department dismantled it. Thirty-three members of the encampment, including nine Penn students, were arrested during the process.
Participants set up the encampment to protest Israel’s war against terror group Hamas, demanding that Penn divest from “corporations that profit from Israel’s war on Gaza and occupation in Palestine.” Other demands included the “granting [of] amnesty for those involved in Pro-Palestine protest” and the reinstatement of the suspended campus group Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine (PAO). At the start of the war, PAO showed support for Hamas.
Encampment protesters chanted in support of terrorists and called for Israel’s destruction. Chants included: “Long live the intifada!,” “There is only one solution! Intifada revolution!” and “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!” Jewish students and faculty experienced acts of violence, intimidation and harassment from encampment members, who incited others to do the same.
Krajewski wrote an official statement on April 20, 2024, opposing the revocation of PAO as a registered student group at Penn.
On April 26, 2024, Krajewski visited the encampment with other elected officials.
On April 27, 2024, Krajewski posted on Instagram that he joined elected officials and faculty across the city in demanding that Penn not arrest or discipline “peaceful protestors involved in the encampment.”
On May 4, 2024, Krajewski was one of eight Philadelphia-area politicians who called [slide 3] on Penn to refrain from taking disciplinary action against campus protesters.
Krajewski reportedly warned members of the Penn encampment of a credible threat for a police sweep on May 10, 2024, “within the next 24 hours.” This allowed encampment members to reinforce and defend the encampment. Police reportedly tore down the encampment on May 10, 2024.
On May 10, 2024, Krajewski posted on Twitter a statement against the clearing of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
On May 16, 2024, Krajewski and Philadelphia Councilmember Jamie Gauthier released a joint official statement calling for amnesty for student protestors and calling on Penn to drop disciplinary charges against students from the Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
On May 17, 2024, Krajewski wrote on Instagram: “...Penn…violently shuts down protests against genocide. This exploitation and unaccountable behavior needs to end...”
