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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania – Mariana Chilton, PhD is a college professor in Philadelphia by day and a suspected thief in the night in a wealthy suburb. She faces charges in Montgomery County Court for swiping pro-Israel signs from a neighboring synagogue and a private home.
The Drexel University professor and her two alleged accomplices displayed a remarkable sense of humor by first allegedly admitting to a police officer that they stole the signs, and then suggesting they could resolve the matter by returning them to their rightful owners. They even asked why the officer needed their identification.
Drexel has placed the Chilton, 56, on administrative leave, according to The Algemeiner website.
Chilton is a professor of health management and policy, and director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities which focuses on developing solutions to the challenges of hunger and economic insecurity, according to Drexel’s biography of Chilton. She holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, University of Oklahoma and Harvard. She has testified before Congress about child nutrition and other anti-poverty policies and authored or collaborated on more than 20 papers.
On the other hand, her education on state criminal law and Middle East history apparently is wanting. If the police report is true, she does not seem to understand that citizens are prohibited by law from stealing the property of others. The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to rule that professors are above the law, unlike presidents.
People stopped by police usually need no explanation for why an officer asks for identification, especially after they have admitted to committing a crime.
Local TV station NBC10 reported last week that the police officer spotted a white Honda CRV stopped at a curb outside Main Line Reform Temple in Lower Merion’s Wynnewood section – one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the nation – at 12:58 a.m. on Nov. 24, 2023 and saw two women walking toward the SUV. They were later identified as Sarah Prickett, 39, of Wynnewood, and Sam Penn, 25, of New York.
The officer approached the Honda and found the pair inside the vehicle along with Chilton, also of Wynnewood, and several pro-Israel signs. The Drexel professor herself told the officer, “We are just taking them because we feel like it is a representative of genocide,” NBC10 quoted from the criminal complaint.
All three were arrested, and Chilton’s case is currently in the pre-trial stage in Montgomery County Court. Her charges include conspiracy, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, according to NBC10. Prickett and Penn were charged with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and criminal trespassing.
The trio allegedly became uncooperative when he asked for their identification as they questioned his reason for seeking their information, according to NBC10.
The confiscated signs were identified by their owners. Homeowner Stephen Chopnick told police that his two “We Stand With Israel” signs were stolen from his property, and the synagogue’s executive director identified pro-Israel signs that were taken from the shul’s property.
Three adult women should know better.
As quoted in The Algemeiner, Drexel president John Fry said that Chilton “has been placed on administrative leave while the university evaluate(s) all the circumstances surrounding the allegations in light of relevant policies while also assessing the impact on Drexel’s educational program.”
He added, “While Professor Chilton is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the alleged actions for which she has been criminally charged are deeply troubling.”
Fry deserves credit for the university’s reaction to Chilton’s arrest. I wonder what Drexel will do if she is convicted. Authorities need to forcefully prosecute and sentence them to the max if they are found guilty. How else can we deter these offenders? My educated guess is that county authorities will not drop or minimize charges against them as happened in Manhattan over more serious offenses.
Montgomery County is likewise governed by Democrats, and the county is a mix of liberal and conservative with a large Jewish population close to the border with Philadelphia. The synagogue is located a few miles from the city. Democrats in major cities have been soft on pro-Arab criminals, no doubt out of fear of alienating them during a close presidential election year.
Chilton did not make clear what she meant by “genocide,” but she is likely referring to Israeli assaults that have killed substantial numbers of civilians in Gaza. That word, genocide, misrepresents Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 massacre in which Palestinian terrorists sought to eliminate Jews, which more closely comports with the definition of genocide.
Israel’s response in Gaza is a legitimate issue that concerns even American Jews who staunchly support Israel. I do not understand it and wonder if Israel is doing what is necessary. However, team Chilton has more than legal means to protest Israel’s actions. Critics of Israel have freedom of speech which they can employ without stealing signs, setting up illegal encampments or occupying a university building.
If they must make off with pro-Israel signs, can they be equitable about it? Are they willing to remove signs that declare “globalize intifada” or “Free Palestine?”
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Bruce Ticker is a Philadelphia-based columnist
Education is overrated.
How stupid can you be?
Sadly, iI am confident the charges will be dropped.