Protesters stage sit-in at Rep. Dwight Evans’ office to call for cease-fire in Gaza

A small group of Jewish protesters staged a peaceful sit-in Friday at the Philadelphia district office of U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, demanding that he call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

After several hours, 15 protesters who refused to leave the inside of the office were arrested without incident.

Evans, a Democrat who was not at his office on Ogontz Avenue in West Oak Lane, has been publicly supportive of Israel, but this week he also signed a letter with other Congress members calling for a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting.

Members of IfNotNow, the group that organized the protest, said that supporting a humanitarian pause was not enough.

According to IfNotNow spokesperson Ilana Dodelson, the group has been asking Evans for a cease-fire declaration for weeks.

“We have been calling him, sending him letters, [trying to have a] meeting with him, going to his office, and he hasn’t called for it yet,” Dodelson said. “Now we are going to sit in his office until he calls for an immediate cease-fire.”

Ben Turner, a spokesperson for Evans, said in an email Friday evening: “Congressman Evans has consistently supported humanitarian pauses for more aid to reach civilians in Gaza. There was a previously agreed-to ceasefire in effect on Oct. 7 which Hamas terrorists broke with a horrific, revolting attack that included murders, rapes and abductions of numerous civilians. Congressman Evans reiterates his call for Israeli forces to immediately take a more restrained approach in targeting Hamas terrorists.”

Singing “cease-fire now,” group members inside the district office’s small reception area sat on the floor and on a couch, holding signs that said “all we want for Hanukkah is a ceasefire,” and “equality, justice, safety for all.”

They delivered signed written messages supporting the cease-fire collected Thursday night from a Hanukkah event at Rittenhouse Square.

Once the crowd refused to leave, Evans’ staff retreated to the inside of the office. Around 40 people total protested inside and outside the office.

For group member Sam Lewin, the representative’s calls for a humanitarian pause “is completely insufficient.”

“Even when we are able to provide Gaza a negligible amount of water, it doesn’t really matter a whole lot if there are bombs falling on their heads,” Lewin said.

For 64-year-old Elijah Wald, whose mother survived the Holocaust, being part of the protest was important because “so many people are treating opposition to this as being antisemitic.”

“It’s important for people to understand most Jews are not necessarily supporting this and this is completely contrary to Jews’ history and practice,” Wald said.

In Philadelphia since the Oct. 7 attack, there have been frequent protests, marches, and heated debates over the war overseas, all while threats against Arab, Muslim, and Jewish people have increased nationwide. Activists have protested at the city offices of U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey, pressing them to call for a cease-fire.

The University of Pennsylvania has been gripped by the divisive debate, with calls for the resignation of Liz Magill, the university’s president, after her testimony before Congress about the university’s handling of antisemitism. When asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates the school’s code of conduct, Magill said during a congressional hearing Tuesday that it was a “context-dependent decision.” Gov. Josh Shapiro condemned her comments.

A protest that targeted an Israeli-owned falafel shop in Center City on Sunday drew widespread criticism, including from Shapiro and President Joe Biden.

Responding to the incident at Goldie, Evans wrote on social media: “Antisemitism and Islamophobia must have no place in the City of Brotherly Love & Sisterly Affection. This is no time for whataboutism. Blaming a Jewish-owned small business for policies of the Israeli government is antisemitism and I condemn it.”