Milwaukee – A rally of roughly 100 protesters showed up at UW-Milwaukee’s library on the second day of fall classes, for chants, speeches and sidewalk chalk in a show of support for Palestinians as Israel continues its lethal campaign in Gaza.
The latest death toll in Gaza has surpassed 41 thousand. At the time of writing, over 150 children have also been killed in the West Bank.
The rally was organized by the UWM Popular University for Palestine Coalition to rally support for the Palestinian struggle despite the university’s temporary suspension of the coalition’s member organizations for a social media post in late July.
“They are criminalizing us for protesting against this genocide. We are living in a world that’s upside-down,” A spokesperson from SDS said in a speech, referring to UWM’s administration.
“UWM has caved to the narrative of Zionist organizations that claim that protesting war crimes is anti-semitic,” another speaker from YDSA said.
The university shared that the suspensions were lifted in a message to the campus community on Sept. 5–the day after the rally. According to the speakers, however, the suspension for SDS has already been formalized until the 2026 academic year.
The rally at UWM also comes after a tumultuous spring and summer for the local pro-Palestinian movement, including a nearly two-week-long encampment at the end of the spring semester and temporary suspensions issued by the university to each of the coalition’s member organizations. Now, with the suspensions lifted for all but SDS, the new school year presents an opportunity to mobilize students as they were in the spring.
A primary focus of the coalition in this and other rallies in the past has been to show solidarity with the struggles of Palestinians. The coalition also hopes to pressure UWM to take more concrete action toward denouncing and cutting financial ties with the state of Israel.
Speakers from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), and Muslim Students Association (MSA), three of the five member organizations of the UWM Popular Students for Palestine Coalition, spoke on several topics of their protest.
One speaker from MSA focused on the humanitarian disaster that has unfolded as a result of Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza strip. A campaign that the United States has continued to support.
“Three-hundred thirty-four days, almost 11 months, and the counting still goes on. How much longer do we have to count? How much longer do the people of Palestine have to count?”
The speaker continued, taking aim at feminist voices who have remained silent on the struggles of Palestinian women.
“[Feminists] totally seem to have forgotten about the women who are still using ripped up tents as pads, being raped, and giving birth under rubble,” the MSA speaker said.
The namesake of UWM’s Golda Meir Library, named after fourth prime minister of Israel and former Milwaukee resident Golda Meir, was also a significant focus of some of the speakers. Speakers from SDS called for UWM to change the name of the library, pointing to Meir’s denigrating comments towards Palestinians while serving as prime minister.
After speeches had concluded, dozens of protesters stayed to draw in chalk Palestinian flags, watermelon slices and other symbols of Palestinian liberation.
