Porches for Palestine
One of the Porchfest for Palestine locations on Chester Street in Philadelphia, May 31, 2025.
Philadelphia
Starting nine years ago, West Philadelphia’s “Porchfest” has become an annual event that draws people from around the city to this area where music performers are featured on neighborhood stoops and porches. But Porch Fest 2025 offered a new dynamic: Porches for Palestine.
In 2024, one or two residents featured performers and speakers on their porches who presented information on the war against people in Gaza and the growing movement to oppose the U.S.-Israeli genocidal war.
This year 13 out of the 200 locations featured at Philadelphia’s Porchfest on May 31 offered speakers, food, T-shirts and information tables about the ongoing crisis, now at a point where millions of people in Gaza, particularly infants and children, face the imminent threat of starvation.
In addition to Palestine porches, there was a barbeque for Palestine in Clark Park, a rummage sale for Palestine at Calvary Church, a Martyrs Memorial set up on 48th St., and various small food and vendor tables along the sidewalk giving their proceeds to Gaza. Several porches not specifically designated for Palestine still displayed Palestinian flags.
The Porches for Palestine also featured performers, including some singing in Arabic. As we walked to several of these locations, this reporter asked sponsors if they had encountered any opposition, and the consistent response was: None.
