Protesters detained at 30th Street Station as they demand a cease-fire in Israel-Hamas war
No clashes were reported, but by 9 p.m. more than 25 of the demonstrators, who surrendered voluntarily, had been detained by police after refusing to stop blocking entrances at several Amtrak gates.
Hundreds of activists staged a rush-hour sit-in and rally at 30th Street Station on Thursday, calling on elected officials to demand a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
At least 200 protesters, some wearing black T-shirts, waved “cease-fire now” signs and took places in the grand court of the historic building with a significant police presence evident. Outside the station, another 200 stood chanting “Hey, hey, ho, ho, the occupation has got to go.”
It was a decidedly interfaith protest as rabbis and activists from Jewish Voice for Peace — an organizer of the demonstration — were among those who sat in front of several closed-off platform stairwells, singing and clapping in a mix of Hebrew and English, also holding “cease-fire now” signs. Faith leaders were among those detained.
And it was a decidedly peaceful protest, and perhaps the most dramatic one in the city in a sequence that began with the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7
No clashes were reported, but by 9 p.m. more than 25 of the demonstrators, who surrendered voluntarily, had been detained by police after they refused to stop blocking entrances at several Amtrak gates. “This is what they wanted,” one officer was heard to say to another.
An Amtrak official said they would be charged with misdemeanor trespassing, rather than just receiving citations.
The protesters had taken positions in front of the gates about 7 p.m., chanting, “No cease-fire, no trains.” Amtrak police had issued three warnings to them to disperse.
Meanwhile, other demonstrators marched outside and cheered groups of protesters who were leaving the station.
The gathering did cause some confusion among commuters as the crowd’s chants competed with the passenger-information announcements from Amtrak staff.
About 4:30 p.m., Amtrak police started checking for tickets and informing commuters that SEPTA and Regional Rail were shut down at 30th Street Station, prompting some frustrated commuters to utter expletives as officers declined to say why only Amtrak was operating.
SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said service at 30th Street was running.
“No trains are bypassing at this time,” Busch said. “The main issue we are having is getting people up to the SEPTA rail platform — having to work around the demonstrators. We have personnel out to assist customers, but we know some are having difficulty getting through.”
According to Amtrak’s display board, none of its trains was being delayed, and a spokesperson said the demonstration had not delayed service.
The demonstration followed a similar action last week in New York City, where hundreds of advocates with Jewish Voice for Peace were arrested in Grand Central Terminal.
Demonstrations have increased with the Israeli military’s escalating siege in the Gaza Strip that Palestinian authorities say has killed more than 9,000 people, more than half women and children.
More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed by Hamas, and 200-plus hostages remain missing overseas.
Rabbi Linda Holtzman, of the social justice-focused Tikkun Olam Chavurah, emphasized that the cease-fire call is very much an interfaith movement. She said that while the Oct. 7 Hamas attack was an atrocity, Israel’s retaliation has been “disproportionate.”
“We see human beings being killed, given no water, given no food,” she said. “And we are all prepared to stand up together.”
Outside the station, among the mostly younger crowd was decades-long anti-war activist Kathy Black, 73, who said she had no connection to the conflict but was there to show her support for a cease-fire. She described what is happening in Gaza as a “horrifying catastrophe.”
At the protest, Black bumped into a handful of friends, including Sukey Blanc, 70, who has family in Israel.
”A cease-fire is just a start to working a fair way for Palestinians and Jews to live together,” said Blanc. “The need right now is stopping the killing of children and civilians.”
Earlier, Gilana Tahir, who was trying to catch a SEPTA train to Mount Airy after work, was among those stopped from entering the station. She said an officer told her vaguely that protesters had gathered who were “pro or against something or other,” before turning her away.
She took the news better than other commuters, saying she was hoping that the protest was about the Israel-Hamas war. As for being barred from the station, she said, “It’s an extremely minor inconvenience for me, but happy to hear people speaking out for a cease-fire.
“I can easily walk to Suburban Station.”
Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.