Philadelphia People’s Tribunal on Gaza war crimes set for this weekend

PHILADELPHIA—A local anti-genocide and Palestinian liberation coalition led by Fridays @ Fetterman’s, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) will conduct the Philadelphia People’s Tribunal on War Crimes and Genocide in Gaza this coming Saturday, May 31, at Friends Center in Philadelphia.

Over 30 organizations—including the Philadelphia Club of the Communist Party USA—have endorsed the People’s Tribunal and are uniting to demand accountability from the United States government and its agents for their enabling role in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

A team of human rights attorneys and international law experts representing the people of Philadelphia will present the case that the U.S. government and specific government officials, including Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, are guilty of complicity with Israel’s war crimes and genocide in Gaza. 

Presenting attorneys include King Downing, founder of the Human Rights-Racial Justice Center; Jonathan Kuttab, Palestinian American human rights attorney and international law expert; and Lewis Webb, Jr., AFSC’s Peacebuilding Director.

Residents of Gaza, family members of Gaza residents, a Palestinian journalist, and humanitarian aid workers with on-the-ground experience in Gaza will deliver testimony about the human cost of Israel’s U.S.-funded war.

Nine individuals who are representative of the Philadelphia community will serve as jurors at the People’s Tribunal, playing a role similar to that of a grand jury. The jurors will listen to witness testimony and review evidence to decide if there is sufficient proof of U.S. government complicity with war crimes and genocide in Gaza and whether agents of the U.S. government should therefore be held accountable. 

They will issue their findings on Friday, June 13, 2025, at the weekly Friday peace vigil for Gaza outside of Fetterman’s Philadelphia office. Some jurors will then deliver the findings to staff members from Fetterman’s office. The findings will also be mailed to President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other members of Philadelphia’s U.S. Congressional delegation.

“When international tribunals and organizations fail to act, and governments refuse to take their responsibilities seriously, it falls to civil society to act to point out the serious crimes, like genocide, which their own governments fail to oppose, or even are complicit in perpetuating,” asserted Jonathan Kuttab, the principal legal advisor to the tribunal.

“People’s Tribunals are forums of justice organized by social justice movements and organizations,” explained Kuttab, “to adjudicate human rights abuse cases against states, and state actors. Although the judgments rendered through people’s tribunals are non-binding, as their decisions are not backed by the force of state authority, their moral and political findings can clarify and change the course of history.”

Fridays @ Fetterman’s co-founder and co-coordinator Terry Rumsey said that the grassroots organization convened the Philadelphia People’s Tribunal because “the U.S. government and our own U.S. senators from Pennsylvania have ignored well-documented findings about Israel’s war crimes in Gaza issued by the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, and many international humanitarian and human rights organizations. 

“The people of Philadelphia are obligated to hold our government and its agents accountable for crimes committed in our name—and with our tax dollars— against the Palestinian people.”

Due to the tremendous response from the Philadelphia-area community, all seats for in-person attendance at the People’s Tribunal have been reserved. Registration for in-person attendance has been closed.

However, interested persons can still attend the People’s Tribunal via Zoom. To attend the People’s Tribunal virtually, register HERE.

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