Fridays at Fetterman’s: Standing for Ceasefire and Peace in Philadelphia

In front of Senator Fetterman’s office. Credit Tina Shelton 
 
by Tina Shelton and Pam Albright

The Greater Philadelphia Branch sends a message of solidarity to our WILPF sisters! We were able to join in an Anniversary event, recognizing one year of advocating for a Ceasefire in Gaza outside of our junior Senator’s Philadelphia office. Although we have since realized that Sen. Fetterman’s stance is considerably more entrenched than we anticipated, we continue to be a part of the only weekly vigil against the war in Philadelphia. Many peace and Palestinian groups in our area have actions, but Fridays at Fetterman’s is the only one that has had a consistent time and place.

The Greater Philadelphia Branch sends a message of solidarity to our WILPF sisters! We were able to join in an Anniversary event, recognizing one year of advocating for a Ceasefire in Gaza outside of our junior Senator’s Philadelphia office. Although we have since realized that Sen. Fetterman’s stance is considerably more entrenched than we anticipated, we continue to be a part of the only weekly vigil against the war in Philadelphia.   Many peace and Palestinian groups in our area have actions, but Fridays at Fetterman’s is the only one that has had a consistent time and place, and our Branch is a sponsor. On December 6, a vigil was held with a poet, a singer, Quaker peace activist George Lakey, Medea Benjamin from Code Pink, a Fetterman puppet (complements of Spiral Q) and others who stood in the cold to mark the anniversary. We then walked to a nearby location where we shared bread and soup and warmed our resolve for the coming season of organizing. Photo: From left to right: Sylvia Metzler, Tina Shelton, Louise Lisi, Joan Wider 

Medea reminded us that despite our having an eye on the goal of a ceasefire, weapons embargo and a new vision for peace in Gaza and the West Bank, we cannot fail to recognize that for the first time ever, a bill was allowed on the floor of the Senate and Senators had a chance to vote on limiting arm sales to Israel. And despite the enormous pressure that they received from the many powerful sources, 19 Senators—forty percent of the Democratic contingent—voted in favor of limiting sales. The pressure to “stand with Israel” was enormous, and yet, 19 Senators responded to pressure from their constituents and organizations like ours. Medea B. joined us later for a discussion about student organizing and the repression that can follow. We hope to create space for students to join in the Project led by WILPF International to gather these stories for future reference. You can learn more about that project here.