Philly’s 4th annual Palestinian solidarity day commemorates contributions of local residents

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Philadelphia commemorated the city’s fourth annual Palestine Day with a series of speeches at City Hall. While several people mentioned the conflict in Gaza, much of the event focused on the local community.

“The sole purpose of this day is to recognize the longstanding contributions historically, economically, socially of Palestinians that have resided in Philadelphia,” said Jude Husein, a Palestinian American who moved to the U.S. when she was 4 years old. “We always make space for what’s happening overseas, but for the most part, the main purpose of this day is just to recognize that there are Palestinian taxpayers here from every single corner of this city.”

In 2021, Husein led the effort for Philadelphia to recognize the International Day of Solidarity With the Palestinian People, which has been observed by the United Nations on Nov. 29 since 1977. She had noticed that the city would raise flags outside City Hall in honor of other communities that were represented in Philadelphia.

The city’s criteria for a flag-raising event includes that “the nation” must either be recognized by the U.S. Department of State, have an embassy or consulate, or have “significant historical, ethnic, or commercial ties to Philadelphia.” Although the organizers argued that Palestine met the third criterium, the city disagreed. Husein’s efforts paid off when the city held an alternative Palestine solidarity event that year on Nov. 29 and then-Mayor Jim Kenney spoke and presented a proclamation.

However, the mood changed following the Oct. 7 attacks in 2023, and the Kenney administration initially showed some resistance to holding the event at all. While the event did take place, the organizers were not allowed to use the city seal and city officials did not speak, as they had in 2021 and 2022.

“Given the current conflict and climate, we feel that prominent participation by the City will distract from the true meaning of this event, which is for Philadelphia’s Palestinian community to have an equal opportunity to celebrate their heritage,” the mayor’s office said in a statement to press at the time.

According to Husein, the 1-year-old administration of Mayor Cherelle Parker showed similar hesitancy and, at one point, revoked their approval of the organizers’ application this year. The ensuing negotiations led to the event being delayed until Dec. 17.

While Parker did not attend, Amy Eusebio, executive director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs, spoke. Eusebio applauded Husein and the other organizers for “creating space” for other communities who “are not eligible for the program to have a pathway for inclusion and rewrite the policy of the program.”

“As a Black Latina, the daughter of Dominican immigrants, I’m grateful to the ways that immigrant businesses contribute to the city,” she added, pointing to how much she enjoyed getting her coffee from Cousins Supermarket, which was started and run by a family of second- and third-generation Palestinian Americans and once boasted the only halal butcher in Philadelphia.

However, Eusebio noted that she did not have a physical proclamation to present as had been the tradition in the past and apologized for “a technicality” that postponed its production. Eusebio did not specify what the problem was.

Frustrated, Husein said that she wasn’t warned prior to the event and that it was emblematic of the issues the organizers had been having with the city.

“There’s been technical difficulty since August,” she told WHYY News. “I feel disappointed. I feel very disappointed. I believe in Mayor Parker. I know she can do better. I know things can get a little weary. The only thing that I ask is that we follow policy. That’s it.”

However, she said she still saw the event as a success.

“This is what being Palestinian Philadelphian means to me,” she said. “Even after every roadblock that they have put me through in the past five months and in the past few years, we still make this day happen because that’s what being Palestinian Philadelphian is. And so us gathering is a victory in itself and the best kind of victory.”

City Councilmember Rue Landau, who also spoke at the event, shared those sentiments, adding that, considering the conflict in Gaza, it’s as important as ever to recognize the city’s Palestinian community.

“There are 17,000 Palestinians in Philadelphia and they contribute tremendously, and we’ve got to make sure that Philadelphia is wrapping our arms around them, bringing ’em in closer and helping to lift them up,” she told WHYY News after the event. “I think it’s taken Philadelphia a long time to start recognizing Palestinians as a community. There’s still some struggles in the way for Philadelphia to open its arms the way it should, but I believe that we are on the path to healing and making sure that we are as a community mourning and healing and advancing for the future.”

Landau is the only Jewish member of the council. Other speakers included state Sens. Art Haywood and Nikil Saval, City Councilmember Rev. Nicolas O’Rourke, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture executive director Lisa Volta and Rabbis for Ceasefire founder Alissa Wise.