by Matt Lamb
Five pro-Palestinian groups at the University of Milwaukee are currently suspended and under investigation following an Instagram story.
The chancellor’s office wrote it was “alerted to an Instagram story on the uwm4palicoalition account that included intimidating language aimed at Jewish community members and organizations on campus that support Israel.”
The group’s official name is “UW-Milwaukee Popular University for Palestine.” It held an encampment in the spring and groups under its umbrella have previously demanded the university scrub the name of alumna and former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir off the library.
The groups under suspension are Students for Justice in Palestine, the Muslim Student Association, Students for a Democratic Society, Young Democratic Socialists of America, and Un-Pac, according to Fox 6.
Instagram stories typically delete after 24 hours. However, other media outlets have reported on the comments.
“We will no longer normalize genocidal extremists walking on our campus,” the group wrote, as reported by pro-Israel website Algemeiner. “Any organization or entity that supports Israel is not welcome at UWM. This includes the local extremist groups such as Hillel, Jewish Federation, etc.”
The social media post further stated:
We refuse to normalize extremists and extremist groups walking around our campus. We are watching Israel’s legitimacy and international recognition fall to pieces on the world stage. Any organization that has not separated themselves from Israel will be treated accordingly as extremist criminals. Stay tuned.
“UWM strongly denounces these statements and denounces any form of antisemitism, and we will be actively monitoring campus as a result. Every student, employee and community member must be safe on our campus,” the university stated in a July 20 announcement. It became aware of the post on July 19.
“UWM takes this post seriously and recognizes that the language in it, if acted upon, would undermine the safety of the UWM community, especially Jewish individuals and organizations,” the announcement stated.
“Where speech is not protected by the First Amendment, UWM will address it through appropriate processes, which could include student and student organization disciplinary processes,” the university stated. “While hateful or intimidating speech is often legally protected, it conflicts with the respect and conduct we ask of each member of our community.”
The group responded to the announcement by thanking the school for the publicity.
It also accused the university of “participating in a Zionist strategy to silence opposition to genocide by falsely equating it with antisemitism.”
It then reiterated its past comments in the Instagram post on July 23.
“Groups that fail to distance themselves from this rogue regime will not be normalized or welcomed on our campus.”
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Matt Lamb is an Associate Editor for The College Fix.
Photo “Pro-Palestinian Protesters” by dareenasha12.
