UW-Milwaukee faces backlash over protest response
By Kendall Keys
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MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (WISN) — UW-Milwaukee officials are facing backlash over a deal they made with pro-Palestinian protesters who camped out on campus. The university’s response drew criticism and calls for accountability from Jewish leaders and the UW president.
UWM workers hauled away and cleaned up what was left of the two-week encampment outside of Mitchell Hall Tuesday morning. The clear-out came after an agreement UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone announced on Sunday.
A joint statement by the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, Hillel Milwaukee and the Anti-Defamation League called out Mone, saying he “capitulated to protesters.”
“The letter that was sent out, the statement of the university, was so egregious, was so insulting, false, defaming and leading to more harm to the Jewish community. It has wounded us so greatly that that is our focus right now. How do we come back from that?” Miryam Rosenzweig, president and CEO of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, said.
UW-Milwaukee’s handling of the protest encampment also drew criticism from Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman.
In a statement on X, Rothman wrote in part, “Maintaining viewpoint neutrality on challenging public issues is critically important, especially in situations where students and other university stakeholders on multiple sides of an issue are in vehement disagreement. We also need to ensure that there is accountability and responsibility for actions taken on our campuses. I am disappointed by the course taken by UW-Milwaukee, and I am continuing to assess the decision-making process that led to this result.”
“I was glad to see the president’s remarks. I would love to see a repair with the Jewish community happen with UWM,” Rosenzweig said.
Rosenzweig said the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s relationship with UW-Milwaukee was bruised by how it responded to protesters.
“The experience of Jewish students on the UW campus has been that of intimidation and harassment and antisemitism, and they should no longer ignore it,” Rosenzweig said.
The UW-Milwaukee administration responded to the criticism in a statement to WISN 12 News that read, “UWM is deeply concerned by the statement made by Hillel Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, and UWM leaders are taking time to understand the concerns before responding comprehensively, which we plan to do soon.”
The university said future encampments would not be tolerated and that the university would exercise citations and the student conduct process immediately.
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