Editor’s note: Letters to the Editor and open letters reflect the opinions, concerns and views of University of Wisconsin-Madison students and community. As such, the information presented may or may not be accurate. Letters to the Editor and open letters do not reflect the editorial views or opinions of The Daily Cardinal.
We, Muslim and Muslim-allied faculty and staff at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, affirm our solidarity with and support for UW-Madison students who — in light of Israel’s siege and attack on Gaza — are demanding that the University of Wisconsin does not show complicity with Israel’s current military actions that have killed over 34,000 Palestinians (70% of whom are women and children) and displaced a million people who are now facing famine. It is our understanding that these students are demanding that the university disclose its financial investments, divest from any American Friends Service Committee listed companies, cut ties with Israeli institutions and call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. We believe these are reasonable and appropriate demands and support our students’ peaceful expression of them.
We call on the University of Wisconsin’s leadership to allow students to peacefully express their freedom of speech for Palestinian rights and against Israel’s occupation and siege. We request that you do not escalate any campus situation by using physical force against them, especially by using police power. As we have sadly witnessed on many campuses across the country, aggressive use of force against peacefully protesting students only causes more protests and tarnishes the reputation of the university in the eyes of parents, future students and the general public. Please prioritize the physical safety of our anti-war students above all else. We insist that no police be permitted to interact with our students without the administration’s prior consultation with the faculty advisors of their relevant student organizations.
We further insist that our students should not be suspended or expelled for exercising their constitutionally recognized right to speech and peaceful assembly. If any students are found to be in violation of campus rules as part of their peaceful, non-violent speech, we demand that no disciplinary action be taken against any student protesters without due process and that no ad hoc disciplinary proceedings be taken against peaceful student protestors. If any charges are brought against any students for peaceful protest, we demand that those charges be dismissed and expunged from their student records and that all rights and privileges be restored to them immediately. We call on the UWPD and MPD to join the growing number of police departments that have rejected calls for arrests of any peaceful nonviolent student protestors, and we call upon District Attorney Ishmael Ozanne and his office to drop charges that may be brought against them.
As the university administration evaluates the nature of speech by the pro-Palestinian student protesters, we call upon the administration not to conflate criticism of the state of Israel or the political ideology of Zionism with antisemitism. As explained in this statement signed by over 200 UW faculty and staff, these two are not the same, and conflating them causes pro-Palestine speakers to be doxxed and even physically harmed. It also interferes with the important work of combating true antisemitism — hatred of Jews as Jews.
We want to close by restating the call from the Faith Advisory Council of UW-Madison’s own Center for Interfaith Dialogue: "Speak freely, but with humility. Act strongly, but do not harm.” This statement was cited favorably and distributed widely by Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin in November of last year. Now is the time for Mnookin’s administration to walk the walk.
Disagreements can and should be part of our dialogue — it is part of what binds us together as Americans and as people. In the face of student protest on topics upon which there is serious disagreement, it is often the instinct of the administration to shut it down as soon as possible. In those instances, rules and policies are used as a weapon to silence these voices rather than searching for ways to mediate with those voices to respect the institution’s needs as well as the students’ drive for justice. We ask the administration to resist this impulse. As our university campus joins the many campuses around the country with organized pro-Palestinian and anti-war voices making demands upon their schools, please do not react by shutting down the voices of our students. We have higher hopes for our Badger community.
As faculty and staff of this important institution, we care very deeply that its reputation remains a respected one. We think that Wisconsin has the capacity to set an example for how to live up to this moment. Doing so means collectively choosing a different path — a path that chooses to hear each others’ truths and sit with the discomfort those conversations might bring.
“Speak freely, but with humility” means that our administration must be humble and sincere in listening to our students at the same time that it demands students adhere to university rules.
“Act strongly, but do not harm” means that the university must be extremely careful that any actions it takes in response to student protests do not cause harm to our students, including lasting police records or loss of academic standing. Ultimately, as educators it is our moral responsibility to dismantle the ways in which words like “violence,” “threatening behavior” or “harm” have historically been weaponized towards minorities and vulnerable peoples. Our students are raising their voices to save lives, not harm them, many of them at great personal and professional risk. This moment demands clear-eyed leadership which asks why the students have chosen to protest rather than focusing on how, which detracts from this goal of “doing no harm.”
We are committed to working with students, other groups of faculty and staff, and the administration to help us all walk through this moment in a safe, healthy and productive way. We stand ready for consultation or outreach at any time.
Signed,
Members of UW Muslim & Muslim Affiliated Faculty and Staff
Ahmed Afifi, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine and Public Health
Wajiha Akhtar, UW Population Health Institute, School of Medicine and Public Health
Samer Alatout, Community & Environmental Sociology, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Mouna Elgaithi, PBS Wisconsin
Nevine El-Nossery, French and Italian History, College of Letters and Sciences
Anna Gade, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Hasan Khatib, Animal & Dairy Sciences, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Lisa Masri, Institute for Research in Poverty, School of Medicine and Public Health
Asifa Quraishi-Landes, Law School
Katrina Daly Thompson, Religious Studies
