Live: UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee students organize pro-Palestinian rallies Monday

Kelly Meyerhofer and Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Demonstrators protest the Israel-Hamas war on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on Monday. Demonstrations in Wisconsin and across the country show growing discontent over schools’ responses to the war.
Demonstrators protest the Israel-Hamas war on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on Monday. Demonstrations in Wisconsin and across the country show growing discontent over schools’ responses to the war.

As pro-Palestinian encampments pop up at colleges across the country, student groups have scheduled Monday morning rallies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW-Milwaukee.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began Oct. 7, protests on Wisconsin campuses have been largely peaceful. The Monday rallies are among the first scheduled in the state since New York police arrested more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University, which set off protests at other colleges nationally.

Check back for updates as the day progresses.

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.

Demonstrators protest the Israel-Hamas war on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on Monday. Student protesters around the country have demanded colleges cut financial ties to Israel.
Demonstrators protest the Israel-Hamas war on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on Monday. Student protesters around the country have demanded colleges cut financial ties to Israel.

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't control 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 rules ban people from camping on university land.

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 protesters staged 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 have picketed outside Mone's home.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee students hold pro-Palestinian rallies: Live

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