Don Sable, Gerri Richmond and Sheila Berman of Elkins Park (pictured above) were recently featured in an article by The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle titled “We went to opening night of the Palestine Writes Festival. Here’s what happened”.

The article highlights the controversy surrounding the Palestine Writes Festival, which took place from September 22-24 on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.

Palestine Writes’ executive director stated that the event “celebrated Palestinian culture but did not deny that it would stand against Israel’s very existence.”

In response, the Zionist Organization of America asked Penn to ban the event. According to the author, “Other Jewish groups and individuals, from Penn Hillel to American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch, asked the university to condemn speakers who had made anti-Israel comments in the past.”

Penn’s administration allowed the three-day festival to go on, including speaker and former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters, who said, “This has nothing to do with antisemitism. There is not a single modicum of antisemitism in my heart.”

For the full story, you can click here.

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Photo: Jarrad Saffren