UWM temporarily suspends pro-Palestinian groups over threat

(The Center Square) – The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has temporarily suspended a handful of pro-Palestinian groups for an Instagram post that called the Milwaukee Jewish Federation an extremist group.

“UWM has temporarily suspended five student organizations associated with a coalition that posted alarming messages on Instagram. The suspensions come as part of UWM’s ongoing investigation,” the university said in a statement. “A July 19 Instagram story post to the uwm4palicoalition account included intimidating language aimed at Jewish community members and organizations that support Israel. UWM strongly denounced the post, and any form of antisemitism. A subsequent Instagram post by the coalition reaffirmed their original message.”

It’s not clear just what the punishment means for the groups that make up the UW-Milwaukee Popular University for Palestine, though the university’s website said that could mean the loss of university building use, and the loss of any student group spending.

The Popular University for Palestine posted earlier this month that Hillel Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Jewish Federation are “extremists groups.”

“We will no longer normalize genocidal extremists walking on our campus,” the Instagram post stated . “We have seen massacre after massacre, body after body torn into pieces; the filthiest of crimes and inhumanities. ANY organization that supports Israel is not welcome at UWM.”

The Jewish groups took that as a threat.

“The post declared Israel supporting organizations such as Hillel Milwaukee and Federation were not welcome on campus and labeled them as ‘extremist’ organizations,” the Jewish Federation said in an open letter last week. “We are most concerned about the final line that threatened, ‘Any organization that has not separated themselves from Israel will be treated accordingly as extremist criminals. Stay tuned.’ While we deeply believe in and support freedom of speech and freedom of expression, we believe this post could encourage harassment and violence towards Jewish students on campus as well as towards the staff of Hillel and the Jewish Federation.”

This is not the first trouble between the university and pro-Palestinian protesters. Dozens of protesters camped-out on campus in April. The university never called the police, and eventually reached an agreement many saw as siding with the protesters.

The University of Wisconsin’s president criticized that settlement. About a month after that settlement criticism, UW-Milwaukee’s chancellor announced that he was leaving his job to spend more time with his family.