Pro-Palestinian rallies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and UW-Madison began Monday, as hundreds of people, mostly students, called for cutting university ties to Israel and for peace in Gaza.
The Monday rallies were among the first scheduled in Wisconsin since New York police arrested more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University. That set off a wave of protests at other colleges nationally. Many have pitted police and university administrators against protesters in arguments over free speech.
8:40 p.m. UW-Madison leaders respond to protesters
In the university's first statement since demonstrators set up tents in violation of state law, UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said she was “committed to protecting the right to free expression."
Students can and should assemble, carry signs, chant, march, and make speeches. But tents were a hard line, she said.
Remove the tents and campus leaders will agree to talk protest demands, Mnookin said.
Lori Reesor, the vice chancellor for student affairs, is meeting this evening with protest organizers, UW-Madison spokesperson Kelly Tyrrell said.
6:36 p.m.: Rumor of arrests spreads, then fades, at UW-Milwaukee
UW-Milwaukee protest leaders heard second-hand that police might arrest the crowd of protesters at 6 p.m., but the hour came and passed with no developments.
Still, when the call went out on social media that something might happen, more people came to the encampment to show support. The crowd grew by a few hundred compared to late afternoon.
Protesters flipped folding tables on their sides to act as a barrier along East Kenwood Boulevard. A handful began wearing hard hats used for construction, or bike helmets.
For hours, a group of about 15 officers from several local police departments has been milling around across the street from the encampment. They have taken no action.
By 6:30 p.m., several families with children were among the crowd. Music continued playing and some students sat in the grass, chatting. Police were telling some reporters they didn't have any indication arrests would happen.
5:52 p.m.: As evening approaches, UW-Madison remains calm
As protests at UW-Madison entered the ninth hour, the mood remained peaceful. People handed out pizza slices. Students designed posters.
It was unclear how long the encampment would last and whether UW-Madison Police would enforce the campus' no-camping rule.
Police had maintained a limited presence, and UW-Madison hadn't released a statement on the demonstration by the end of the work day.
Sitting in a lawn chair near the tents, UW-Madison student Jumana Tanner, a pro-Palestinian protester, didn't see an end any time soon. She said Madison police have "a lot of patience for activism."
Students for Justice in Palestine, which helped organize the demonstration, has demanded cutting ties with companies doing business in Israel. The group also requested the university end an exchange student fellowship with an Israeli university, endstudy-abroad programs in Israel, remove police from the campus and disclose the UW Foundation's investments.
"We're staying as long as it takes," an organizer yelled through a bullhorn.
5:35 p.m. Jewish students walk among protesters, providing 'food for thought'
A small group of Jewish students wove in and out of the path of protesters, drawing attention with oversize "End Anti-semitism On Campus" flags.
Zachary Ogulnick and Erika Klein, both UW-Madison students who carried the flags, said pro-Palestinian views were much more widely accepted on campus. They said the demonstrators had a right to protest, and so did they.
Both said they had never been more proud of their Jewish heritage.
We are "making a point in a quiet and peaceful way," said Erik Olsen, a UW-Madison alumnus who is Jewish, and joined Ogulnick and Klein in the counter-protest.
The goal, he said, was "to give people some food for thought."
4:13 p.m. Will police move in? These Palestinian supporters think it would be a shame.
Two community leaders said it would be detrimental if police arrested UWM student protesters and moved to take down the encampment forcefully. It was not clear what police were planning to do, if anything.
Othman Atta, director of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, argued students were protesting peacefully and exercising their First Amendment rights.
An alumnus of UWM himself, Atta said the protest is reminiscent of previous protest movements, such as during the 1982 Lebanon War.
“They’re taking the university to task for not holding a moral and ethical stance,” he said of today’s students. “They see tens of thousands of innocent being killed, including children.”
Jodi Melamed, faculty adviser for the Students for Justice in Palestine at Marquette University, said the purpose of college campuses is debate and free expression.
“It would be unconscionable for the university to criminalize its own students by sending in the police,” she said.
4:02 p.m.: Jewish UW-Madison staff member stands with protesters
Tsela Barr, assistant director of the Middle East Studies Program at UW-Madison, said she joined protesters all day at Library Mall, and planned to stay in support.Barr is Jewish and part of the local chapter of the national organization Jewish Voice for Peace.
Barr feels “a moral responsibility to speak up as a Jewish person against Israeli atrocities.”
Barr said she has been a Palestinian solidarity activist since 1985 and thinks more young Jews are becoming more critical of Israel with the increase of social media and the internet.
“It's more important than ever to speak up as a Jewish person and say ‘Not in our name,’” Barr said. “You cannot conflate the criticism of Israel with antisemitism.”
This semester, the federal Department of Education opened an investigation into whether UW-Madison failed to protect its Jewish students from harassment, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel previously reported. The investigation launched after Campus Reform, a conservative news outlet, filed a complaint against UW-Madison and several other universities.
3:40 p.m.: UW-Milwaukee students 'prepared for however long we may need'
UWM student groups — among them, Students for Justice in Palestine, Students for a Democratic Society and the Muslim Student Association — formed a joint coalition for the encampment. The new group is called the Popular University for Palestine Coalition.
Student organizers told the crowd not to speak to police or reporters and directed journalists to a selected Palestinian-American student leader, who declined to have her name released for publication.
“We’re prepared for however long we may need. We will do whatever it takes until we get our demands. It’s the least we can do for people in Gaza. We don’t want to sit around and do nothing,” the student leader said. “If it takes two days, three days, a whole week, we’ll do it. The community’s supporting us.”
Notably, the UWM students’ demands now do not include renaming the Golda Meir Library. It had been a prior demand of protesters.
3:12 p.m.: UW-Milwaukee's encampment is peaceful, as officers stay nearby
The UW-Milwaukee encampment was peaceful, with people tossing volleyballs and footballs, sitting on blankets on the grass, snacking and chatting. At one tent, supporters handed out slices of cheese pizza, bags of chips and water bottles.
Speakers played Palestinian music, and Palestinian flags staked in the ground waved in the breeze.
A delivery of two porta-potties arrived, but after a police officer told students it wasn’t allowed, the truck carrying the toilets drove away without unloading them.
Ropes were strung between trees to create a perimeter, but people moved freely in and out of the area.
A number of police officers were set up about a block away, but none were taking any action against the protesters. One officer told a reporter that he couldn’t disclose whether the officers would move into the encampment to take it down.
2:59 p.m. Federation has been in touch with Jewish students, UW-Milwaukee administration
Michael Harryman, chief communications officer with the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, said the federation would not provide specific comment on the protests due to Monday being within Passover.
Passover is a Jewish holiday that lasts for eight days outside of Israel and ends Tuesday.
Harryman said in a text the group has been working with Hillel Milwaukee, an organization for Jewish students and young adults, and has been in communication with the administration of UW-Milwaukee.
“We have not had contact with UW-Madison administration, but we support their messages reminding the community about the importance of peaceful and respectful protest while exercising our First Amendment rights,” Harryman said.
Neither Hillel Milwaukee nor the UW-Madison chapter of the organization responded to requests for comment — again, due to Passover.
2:48 p.m.: UW-Milwaukee students see demonstration as a moral fight
Samia Saeed, who spoke to the Journal Sentinel before the encampment was set up, said she had seen news about snipers on roofs at other campuses and protesters being tased. Saeed, a junior studying marketing and journalism, is the social media chair for the Students for a Democratic Society.
“We are obviously afraid, but our fear of being shot at or being arrested is not bigger than our fear of not doing anything for our Palestinian siblings,” she said.
“We are always going to be bigger in numbers than the UWM administration or the cops, or anyone who is on the other side,” Saeed said.
A student who said he is a junior studying political science and pre-law, said it’s been a difficult school year as a Muslim. He declined to give his name for fear of retribution.
“It’s hard to focus on your studies when you’re thinking about a genocide going on and that my tuition and tax money is paying for it,” he said.
2:20 p.m.: UW-Madison protesters say tents will stay up
Protesters doubled down on their plans to keep tents set up on the UW-Madison campus for as long as it takes the university to meet their demands.
First-year graduate student Dahlia Saba said demonstrators are prepared to stay "indefinitely" until UW-Madison complies with their demand to divest from weapons manufacturers tied to Israel.
UW-Madison professor Samer Alatout predicted the camp would likely remain for at least a day. He is one of several faculty members involved in mediating between administrators and students.
"We have been able to build open communication channels with the administration in the last five months," he said. "We're hoping we can build on those communication channels in order to avoid what's happening in other campuses (nationally)."
UW-Madison said last week that camping was not allowed on campus. Alatout pointed out the rule carves out a way for the chancellor to make an exception.
"Sure, the rule should be followed, but we hope the chancellor understands that she could also open it up," he said.
Asked why protesters decided to move ahead with the encampment despite the clear warning, Saba said UW-Madison's priorities were "shameful."
"In the face of a genocide that has killed tens of thousands of people, including over 15,000 children, the university is more concerned with having tents on a lawn than with ending funding for that violence," she said. "So we are out here today to show that we will not be intimidated by the university using these threats."
1:30 p.m. Orthodox Jewish man, Palestinian-American men get into debate
About four orthodox Jews arrived at the rally at UWM.
A quiet but tense debate about Zionism between an orthodox Jewish man and some Palestinian-American men ended after Muslim community leaders encouraged the Palestinian-American men to step away. Othman Atta, director of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, told the Palestinian-Americans, “Don’t waste your time.”
Nearby at the encampment, students were learning a traditional dance as music played.
Two students climbed into a tree and hung a Palestinian flag from the branches. Others milled around, chatting.
1:03 p.m.: At UW-Madison, Republican anger grows
As the protest entered its fourth hour at UW-Madison, some Republicans expressed anger and frustration, and urged university officials to take action.
The university's College Republicans chapter said groups involved in the demonstration, including the Young Democratic Socialists of America and the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine, were creating a hostile environment on campus. The chapter also noted the encampment violated UW-Madison rules against camping on university property.
GOP Badgers Chairman Thomas Pyle said the encampment was "heinous, unproductive, and antisemitic."
U.S. Rep Derrick Van Orden said theprotesters' chanting of "from the river to the sea," a phrase many Jews find offensive, was "disgraceful behavior."
State Rep. Barbara Dittrich, R-Oconomowoc, tweeted at UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin: "I pray you will get this handled NOW so our students can finish their finals and the term in peace and safety!"
12:44 p.m.: Marquette professor tells crowd it's not antisemitic to oppose war
Jodi Melamed, an English professor at Marquette University who is affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace, told the gathered crowd that it was not antisemitic to protest the Israel-Hamas war.
“There is nothing antisemitic about protesting genocide,” she said. “There is nothing antisemitic about a free Palestine.”
She also led students in a chant: “Zionism is racism. Palestine is liberation.”
Melamed was one of several speakers addressing the crowd.
Munjed Ahmad, a local attorney and Palestinian-American, told the crowd he would have a legal team represent anyone who faces legal consequences at the encampment for free.“They can threaten our community with whatever the hell they want. We don’t care,” he said.
12:32 p.m.: Democratic state representative calls on Mone to drop charges
State Rep. Ryan Clancy addressed the crowd in the lawn outside Mitchell Hall, which encircles more than two dozen tents and canopies.
He called for Chancellor Mark Mone to drop the charges against the so-called Milwaukee 5, the five students who received tickets after a sit-in outside Mone’s office.
He said it was important for students to feel comfortable speaking out without fear of reprisal.
Organizers handed out sheets of paper with QR codes to people planning to stay at the encampment. The link in the code went to a Google form to provide their personal information in case they were arrested and needed help with bail.
The student organizers said they would stay until campus administrators met their demands, which included disclosing and divesting from financial ties to Israel and releasing a statement “condemning the apartheid state,” referring to Israel’s policies on the treatment of Palestinians.
Marquette students directed to UW-Milwaukee if they want to join protest
There do not appear to be any protests or major gatherings on the Marquette University campus. However, some Marquette students are in attendance at the UW-Milwaukee demonstration.
This morning, the Marquette student group Students for Justice in Palestine reposted an Instagram post to their story from the UWM student organizations organizing the protest.
“Today!! Come support @sjpmilwaukee & @sds_uwm,” SJP Marquette wrote on the story. Other stories posted by @sjpmarquette showed students marching and setting up tents.
11:36 a.m.: UW-Milwaukee protesters set up tents, form human barrier around them
During a march around UWM’s campus, a group of people grabbed tents from parked cars and began quickly setting them up on the lawn outside Mitchell Hall.
There were at least 12 tents, and more were arriving. The protesters are gathered on the lawn.
Protest organizers are asking people to form a human barrier around the tents.
11:16 a.m.: Growing crowd at UW-Milwaukee begin marching
A growing crowd of at least 250 people, carrying flags and signs, began marching near UW-Milwaukee.
The crowd included students as well as members of the Palestinian and Arab communities of all ages.
An organizer urged people not to speak to police. He said marchers should be “in the business of de-escalation.”
The direction of the march was not immediately known.
11:14 a.m.: Chubby’s Cheesesteaks owners will provide free food to UW-Milwaukee protesters
The owners of Chubby’s Cheesesteaks and Señor Gordito's plan to provide free food for about 500 UW-Milwaukee protesters around lunchtime.
Owners Mazin and Murad Hamdan are first-generation Palestinian-American brothers. Their father is from the West Bank and their mother is from Gaza.
“We thought it’d be fitting to be supportive of our heritage, culture and family, and show our support for the protesters, that we thank them for standing up for Palestine, for what we believe in, and against genocide” Mazin Hamdan said. “It’s important for us to be a part of this, especially when it’s directly affecting us.”
Hamdan said they have limited contact with family in Gaza but have learned that family members have lost their homes and businesses and are living in tents.
“We’re very proud that people are actually starting to see what is really going on,” Mazin Hamdan said.
They are preparing tacos from Señor Gordito's and halal hot dogs from Chubby’s Cheesesteaks. They plan to arrive on campus between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
The Hamdan brothers, along with their cousin, Ramzey Huneidi, also plan to open a food truck park this summer named Pali Park as a nod to their Palestinian heritage.
10:50 a.m.: Protesters gather at UW-Milwaukee's Golda Meir Library
More than 200 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside UW-Milwaukee’s Golda Meir Library mid-morning Monday.
They chanted “Free, free Palestine” and “End the U.S. war machine,” among other slogans. They carried signs that said “Blood on your hands” and “Divest from genocide.”
Student organizer Samia Saeed, a journalism and marketing student, said the group planned to march.
10:46 a.m.: ACLU emphasizes students' rights to free speech
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin emphasized students’ first amendment rights in a statement released Monday morning as protests began at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee.
Executive Director Dr. Melinda Q. Brennan said that universities around the country have responded to recent protests with “overwhelming force” with police arresting students and using intimidation tactics. More protesters were arrested Saturday as pro-Palestinian protests continued on U.S. college campuses, USA Today reported.
“As anti-war protests spread to campuses in Wisconsin, university administrators are left with a choice – one that will determine which side of history they will be on,” Brennan said in the statement.
“They can stay true to the Wisconsin Idea – the founding principle of our state university system – which holds that college campuses must serve as incubators for self-discovery and empower students to critically examine, understand, and interact with the world around them,” Brennan said.
“Or they can, regrettably, decide to follow the path of other universities that have succumbed to political pressure, betraying and punishing their students, faculty, and staff for peacefully exercising their right to dissent."
9:48 a.m.: Tents set up at UW-Madison despite 'no camping' policy
Protesters set up at least nine tents on Library Mall at the UW-Madison campus.About 200 protesters circled around the tents, arms linked in solidarity, clapping and yelling “Disclose! divest! We will not stop! We will not rest!”Shortly before the tents popped up, a protest organizer told demonstrators not to engage with police or speak with reporters.UW-Madison leaders said on Friday no camping is allowed on campus grounds.
9:37 a.m.: At UW-Madison, protesters are peaceful
MADISON — About 200 protesters began peacefully demonstrating against the Israel-Hamas war on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus Monday morning.
It was a stark contrast to what has happened at dozens of other schools over the past week where encampments led to hundreds of arrests and clashes with campus police. A light rain started just before the protest began at 9 a.m.
Protesters chanted “From the river to the sea,” a phrase Jewish people believe calls for the elimination of Israel. Signs read “Divest from genocide” and “Be free Palestine.”
Protesters have broadly demanded for an end to the war, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians.
Students have also demanded their schools divest from corporations that do business in Israel.
UW-Madison doesn'tcontrol its investments or endowment, and opposes academic boycotts, including Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) toward Israel, university spokesperson John Lucas said.
The UW Foundation, with a $3.8 billion endowment, doesn't take directives on how to invest donor money from outside parties, foundation spokesperson Tod Pritchard said.
What's driving students to protest?
The rallies come as the semester winds down and commencement nears. The past school year has left both Palestinian and Jewish students on edge, with many feeling misunderstood, anxious and isolated.
The organizing groups, which include Students for Justice in Palestine chapters and the Students for Democratic Society at UW-Milwaukee, have pushed for their schools to cut ties with Israel.
The groups did not make clear whether their rally plans included setting up encampments. A UW-Milwaukee organizer said the rally would last two hours, while UW-Madison organizers didn't respond to a request for comment.
Will students be arrested?
The UW-Madison dean of students and interim police chief warned in a Friday email to the 50,000-student campus that disobeying university protest policies and rules "can and will have consequences, both within our code of student conduct and more broadly under Wisconsin law."
State rulesban people from camping on universityland.
At UWM, five students were arrested earlier this semester following a sit-in outside the chancellor's office that university officials said was unauthorized.
"In the extremely rare instances when UWM Police have made arrests at the site of prior demonstrations, not one person has been arrested because they were protesting," university spokesperson Angelica Duria said. "Rather, they were arrested and subsequently cited for violations of the laws by which we must all abide."
More:As pro-Palestinian protests sweep U.S. campuses, here's what's happening at Wisconsin universities
Why are pro-Palestinian students protesting at UW-Milwaukee?
The students' demands include:
- Renaming Golda Meir Library. Meir, who grew up in Milwaukee and is one of UWM's most notable alumna, was Israeli prime minister from 1969-74. UWM says the UW Board of Regents is in charge of campus building names.
- Ending study abroad trips to Israel. UWM said it has no study-abroad activity in Israel and no jurisdiction over Hillel, an international organization through which local Jewish college students can join and take birthright trips to Israel.
- Divesting from weapon manufacturersinvolved in the war. UWM said its foundation supports the university by investing in mutual funds but it cannot divert money from individual companies within its funds.
About two dozen student protestersstaged a six-hour sit-in outside the office of UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone in February. Police arrested five students for assembly blocking, obstructing, unauthorized occupation, prohibited signs and prohibited noise.
The students pleaded not guilty to the citations, which carry fines but no jail time.
More recently, protesters havepicketed outside Mone's home.
