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Roughly 100 pro-Palestine protesters rallied on Saturday outside the home of Intercontinental Real Estate CEO Peter Palandjian ’87 to denounce his company’s leasing agreement with Elbit Systems of America, a subsidiary of an Israel-based defense contractor.
The pro-Palestine organization BDS Boston organized the rally, where protesters spent roughly 30 minutes outside Palandjian’s house, handing out fliers that referred to him as a “genocide profiteer,” and urged him to evict Elbit Systems of America from Cambridge.
Palandjian is the brother-in-law of Tracy P. Palandjian ’93, a member of the Harvard Corporation — the University’s highest governing body. Tracy Palandjian is married to Leon A. Palandjian ’91, who serves as chief risk officer of Intercontinental Real Estate.
Peter Palandjian, Intercontinental Real Estate, and Elbit Systems did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
Elbit Systems of America is a subsidiary of Israel-based Elbit Systems, a major supplier of land-based equipment and drones to the Israel Defense Forces. In December 2021, the company opened an office in Central Square, which has been the site of protests as recently as Wednesday.
Saturday’s march, however, appeared to be the first to target Palandjian’s home. There was no indication that anyone was inside the house during the protest.
The protest began at 1 p.m. in Harvard Square, where protesters chanted “Elbit out of Cambridge now,” “Long live the intifada,” and “Say it loud and say it clear, Elbit is not welcome here.”
Participants also held up signs that included phrases such as “Shame on the Elbit War Machine” and “Elbit Drones Kill Babies.”
Accompanied by Cambridge Police, the group then marched roughly a mile east to Palandjian’s home, where they affixed fliers to surrounding trees and light poles, sparking a brief confrontation between organizers and neighborhood residents.
Protesters also held up Palestinian flags to block an observer in the neighborhood from filming the protest.
“Your heartbreak and your anger is needed right now. You need to come with me to the doorstep of this genocide profiteer,” an organizer chanted upon arriving to Palandjian’s home.
Over a loudspeaker, one organizer said the disruption was intended to direct the anger of neighbors disturbed by the protest.
“You know they’re gonna get mad at the Palandjians eventually, even if they’re mad at us,” they said.
The protesters also addressed the Cambridge City Police officers standing between them and the home, chanting, “Justice for Faisal” — a reference to police killing of Sayed Faisal in January 2023.
Toward the end of the demonstration, protesters chanted, “Evict Elbit now, or we’ll be back and we’ll be loud,” before returning in the direction of Harvard Square.
—Staff writer Elyse C. Goncalves can be reached at elyse.goncalves@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @e1ysegoncalves or on Threads @elyse.goncalves.
