by William Stauber Soik
Editor’s Note: The Leader will be covering protests occurring this summer as Milwaukee hosts the fascistic apparatchiks of the Republican National Convention. Our reportage will focus in part on ongoing protests demanding a ceasefire in Israel’s ongoing assault on the people of Gaza. To provide a sense of the current state of that movement in the city, we are publishing this report from UWM Student and Young Democratic Socialists of America member William Soik, a participant in and correspondent from the encampment that successfully forced some concessions from UWM’s leadership this spring, although the concessions fell short of those demanded by the demonstrators. Soik will be providing updates later this summer as he reconnects with activists who participated in the demonstrations.
Milwaukee – The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee backpedaled on its statement calling Israel’s conduct in Gaza a “plausible genocide.”
On April 29th, student activists and organizers set up an encampment on the campus lawn on the corner of Kenwood Boulevard and Downer Avenue. Roughly two weeks later, the organizers and university administrators agreed to remove the encampment peacefully by Tuesday, May 14th. As part of the negotiations, administrators agreed to release a statement on Sunday–two days before the encampment would come down.
Several demands were met in the statement, including a denouncement of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, which has now claimed the lives of over 14,000 children. The statement also cited a United Nations expert and the International Crime Court which called Israel’s actions in Gaza as a “plausible Genocide.”
Furthermore, the UWM administration denounced the ongoing scholasticide–the destruction of educational infrastructure and persecution of students and educators.
These two statements stoked a hostile response from local Zionist groups and organizations in the Milwaukee area. On May 14th, the same day the encampment was taken down as agreed, Hillel Milwaukee, ADL-Midwest and Milwaukee Jewish Federation released a statement in response to the agreement between protesters and UWM administration.
“Chancellor Mark Mone capitulated to protesters who violated UWM codes of conduct and state law, vandalized university property, and used harassment and intimidation to fuel antisemitism on campus,” the statement said.
The demonstrators at UWM maintained a strong position against hate speech of any kind, including antisemitism. The protesters remained focused on protesting the university’s complacency in Israel’s campaign that has wrought devastation in Gaza.
On the May 21st–just two days after the 2024 commencement ceremony–a statement from the officer of Chancellor Mone appeared to backpedal on the university’s previous condemnation of the genocide in Gaza.
In the statement, Mone apologized for UWM’s decision to weigh in “on deeply complex geopolitical and historical issues.”
UWM has not retracted its statement condemning the genocide and scholasticide in Gaza, but Chancellor Mone’s apology to the protesters and those who have been directly impacted by Israel’s destructive actions.
