Tara Tarawneh, a former student at the University of Pennsylvania, has been detained for allegedly stealing an Israeli flag. Tarawneh earned notoriety for expressing joy on the day of the Hamas terrorist attack against Israeli people. Tarawneh was arrested on November 4 after the incident on October 28.
Tarawneh, a 2020 graduate of King’s Academy in Madaba, Jordan, faces accusations of theft and receiving stolen property, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Campus Apartments residents near the Ivy League campus may have had their flag stolen from their front lawn.
The accused student had previously made headlines for making a hate-filled speech at a Philadelphia demonstration in favor of the Palestinian cause. In her remarks, she encouraged the crowd to remember how “empowered and happy” they felt on the day of the October 7 Hamas attack and use that emotion to motivate their activities.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx), who highlighted Tarawneh’s status as an Ivy League student, was among those who blasted her statements when the video of her speech went viral.
Tarawneh, despite her celebrity, presents herself on her profile as a human rights activist. She had written for Taleed Magazine before and intended to use that experience toward a degree in English Literature and Art History at Penn.
While condemning “settler colonialism” as a “violent machine” that seeks to obliterate Palestinian existence and history, Tarawneh argued for the Palestine Writes Literature Festival to be held on the Philadelphia campus in an article published in The Daily Pennsylvanian in September.
Penn declined to comment on Tarawneh’s arrest, but did point to President Liz Magil’s recent criticism of escalating antisemitic crimes on campus, including as ugly graffiti and slogans at rallies. University policies and laws would be followed in investigating and responding to any act of hate, Magil reiterated.
The Post’s attempts to get a statement from Tara Tarawneh went unanswered.