Pro-Palestinian protest to continue at Pitt

The pro-Palestinian protest at Schenley Plaza is expected to continue until Monday.

Demonstrators told TribLive news partner WTAE that they planned to remain encamped at Schenley Plaza in the city’s Oakland neighborhood. The demonstration began Tuesday in support of Palestinians, a free Palestine and for the University of Pittsburgh to divest itself of any war-related investment in Israel.

By remaining until at least Monday, the demonstrators will be across from campus on Sunday, when Pitt holds its graduation ceremonies on the upper portion of the campus at the Petersen Events Center. The plaza is across the street from the Cathedral of Learning.

The demonstrators had said on Thursday, when professor and activist Cornel West spoke to them in support of their cause, that the encampment likely would end on Friday.

About 30 tents in the encampment were surrounded by small Palestinian flags and banners reading, “Stop the Genocide” and “Ceasefire Now.”

At Schenley Plaza, a group of about 25, including Pitt students and faculty, has set up an encampment to demand the university divest itself from war-related investment in Israel.

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Jared Stonesifer, a spokesman for the University of Pittsburgh, said the plaza is not university property. City officials are handling those negotiations with the demonstrators, he said.

A spokesperson for the Pittsburgh police could not be reached for comment Saturday morning.

The extent of Pitt’s investments in Israeli military and defense companies is unclear. Protest organizers have said they have been told by the university that the information in confidential.

The demonstration comes as pro-Palestinian protests have swept college campuses over the past week.

The Pitt protest has been peaceful. It was organized by a group of students that have organized under the name “Pitt Divest from Apartheid.”