Iran war protesters in Philadelphia target McCormick, Fetterman, demanding end to conflict

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Dozens of protesters gathered in Philadelphia on Saturday to demand that Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators, Dave McCormick and John Fetterman, take action to bring an end to the U.S. and Israel’s joint offensive in Iran, which ignited last month.

Protesters held signs reading “Stop dropping bombs on Iran” and “His war, your kids” as they marched from the respective senators’ Philadelphia offices to converge at City Hall.

“We demand engagement,” Aminah McNulty, 34, said. “We demand our elected officials to speak for the people, and we are saying one thing. That is, ‘End the war.’”

The West Philadelphia resident attended the protest as a member of Philadelphia Prayers for Peace Alliance, one of the organizing groups. Others included CODEPINK Philadelphia; If Not Now; Indivisible Philadelphia; Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW! and the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

State Sen. Nikil Saval, D-Philadelphia, and state Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Philadelphia, who is running to represent the 3rd Congressional District in this spring’s Democratic primary, spoke at the City Hall rally.

Neither McCormick nor Fetterman responded to a request for comment. In early March, both senators voted against advancing a war powers resolution that would require congressional approval for U.S. military attacks on Iran.

On Friday, President Donald Trump said he was considering “winding down” operations in the Middle East, even as the U.S. has sent thousands of additional troops to the Middle East and U.S., Israeli and Iranian airstrikes continue.

More than 1,300 Iranian civilians have been killed in the conflict, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, and at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed since the war began.

More than 1,000 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities. Fifteen Israeli civilians have been killed by Iranian airstrikes, and two Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon. Four Palestinian civilians were killed in an Iranian airstrike in the occupied West Bank.

In Iraq, 60 people have been killed, and in the Gulf states, at least 20 people have been killed in the conflict.

Faramarz Farbod, an Iranian American and a professor at Moravian College in Pennsylvania, decried the airstrike on a girls’ school in the town of Minab in southern Iran. Carried out on the first day of the war, it killed 165 to 180 people, according to Iranian authorities, mostly girls ages 7 to 12, and injured almost 100 more people.

“When we talk about opposing war, this is what we mean,” he said. “Not strategies, not geopolitics, but children, hospitals, children under fire, under rubble, cities under fire, people under rubble.”

Evidence from multiple investigations suggests the strike was carried out by the United States, while President Donald Trump has denied responsibility and said Iran was responsible for the attack.

Several protesters told WHYY News that they are concerned about the more than $16 billion the U.S. has spent on the war, and the additional $200 billion in military funding the White House was seeking as of Thursday.

Rose Johnson, 64, of Mt. Airy, was among the roughly 50 people who gathered outside of the building where McCormick’s office is located, at 20th and Market streets, before marching to City Hall.

She said her biggest concern is that the Trump administration is “not focusing on this country and the things that we need,” lamenting changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other government programs.

“I think that if they really liberated Iran, then that would be one thing, but I don’t think that’s what Trump has in mind,” Johnson said. “And at the same time, people need health care and people need SNAP and people need housing here, and they put money there, and not here for this country.”

Paula J. Paul, 84, of Germantown, also said she is concerned about the financial cost of the war when local public schools are underfunded and many Americans struggle to access health care.

“I feel the drain on our communities of so much money going into warfare, and it’s significant,” she said. “It affects everyday life, and we should take it seriously. It’s about all of us. It’s our tax dollars, and it’s our communities that are paying for this.”

Paul said she joined the protest with fellow members of the “Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia” to voice her opposition to the war.

She said it is important for older generations to continue to demonstrate against policies and wars that they oppose.

“I know some people wind up feeling there’s no hope, there’s no reason, or it’s too scary, but I don’t feel that way,” Paul said. “I’m so grateful for life. I owe it to my grandchildren. I owe it for the gratefulness for my life, because I believe in it. It’s my value system … to stand up for justice and peace, so it’s just part of who I am.”

Johnson said she has joined other protests against the Trump administration in the past year.

“It’s hard to feel like these protests make a difference, but I keep reminding myself about the Civil Rights Movement,” she said. “People struggled for years to make a difference, and I think you have to just keep going, and eventually, if we can call attention with more citizens, and bring some change in the legislature, some different people, then that will be a big impact. I don’t know that we’re ever going to change Trump’s mind, but we have to bring other people who will act more responsibly for this country.”