About 60 pro-Palestine protesters gathered on Library Mall for a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) walkout Friday morning to criticize new protest policies and call for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s “financial and social” divestment from Israel.
SJP held events all week as a part of their “week of rage” demonstration, including a similar rally Monday on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel which pro-Israel demonstrators said was insensitive.
The protesters marched up Bascom Hill and gathered in front of the Abraham Lincoln statue. As they marched, they chanted “free, free Palestine,” “we charge you with genocide” and “the occupation has to go.”
No progress made on UW-Madison divestment, protesters say
SJP protesters called for transparency regarding UW Foundation investments and gave updates on meetings with campus leaders.
In the deal university administrators struck with SJP to end the 12-day pro-Palestine encampment in May, administrators agreed to facilitate access between protesters and “relevant decision” makers. Pro-Palestine activists met with the Board of Regents Sept. 16 to ask questions about university divestment efforts during South African apartheid.
The UW System divested from all holdings in companies supporting apartheid South Africa in 1978 following pressure from The Madison Area Committee on Southern Africa (MACSA) on the Wisconsin Legislature and 12 students occupying the chancellor’s office demanding divestment in May 1977.
Wisconsin Attorney General Bronson LaFollette wrote a letter to the Board of Regents saying the Wisconsin Statute 39.29(1) put into effect July 8, 1974 which prohibited “the purchase of stocks in firms practicing racial discrimination,” made the university’s investment in companies supporting apartheid illegal.
SJP speaker Shafiq said a representative for the Board of Regents, who started their job eight days prior, was not knowledgeable of the policy and said the law only applies to “employment discrimination within the company” not investments. Shafiq said additional questions still have not been answered by email.
The UW System did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
SJP protesters also continued their call for UW Foundation asset transparency.
“We are here to continue the campaign to pressure the university to divest from occupation, borders and prisons from Palestine,” Dahlia Saba, SJP spokesperson, said during her speech. “We have a public university that is using our endowment to profit off of genocide.”
UW Foundation assets are not public records because the foundation is a nonprofit organization. The WFAA has declined to comment on specific investment. A previous analysis found the UW System has investments in a BlackRock fund with some ties to weapons manufacturing.
Saba also criticized UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s decision to authorize a police raid to remove the pro-Palestine encampment on May 1.
“We have seen the university use physical force against the encampment right here in spring,” Saba said.“This institution would rather track down its students and rather take away our rights when met with a simple demand.”
SJP speaker Gabo Ochoa Samosm — whose grandfather was a student who protested for UW-Madison’s divestment from South African apartheid — drew comparison between apartheid protests and the recent 12-day pro-Palestine encampment.
“He's fighting for the same thing that we're fighting for now, which is just justice,” Samosm said. “Every time students fight for something on a campus, whether it be the Vietnam War or apartheid divestment, the university condemns us, and without fail, within 50 years, there are plaques honoring our struggle and our commitment to justice.”
Protesters criticize university’s Expressive Activity Policy
Protesters also criticized new protest policies, now falling under the Expressive Activity Policy, updated the week before fall semester classes began.
Saba criticized the policy creating ”zones on this campus where free expression is prohibited,” referencing the policy preventing protest within 25 feet of university facility entrances, calling it a “dystopian 1984” situation. Saba also condemned the university creating the policy “coincidentally” following the encampment.
UW-Madison is allowed “time, place and manner” restrictions on free speech. UW-Madison spokesperson John Lucas previously told The Daily Cardinal the updated policy outlines reasonable restrictions “such as the 25-foot restriction, that work in tandem to help prevent concerted activities from obstructing or interfering with campus operations.”
Saba said UW-Madison Dean of Students Christina Olstad and other campus administrators attending the Friday protest were “here to restrict our rights on campus.”
Olstad told the Cardinal the university “supports the students’ First Amendment right to protest” and declined to answer additional questions.
Mary Bosch is the photo editor for The Daily Cardinal and a first year journalism student. She has covered multiple stories about university sustainability efforts, and has written for state and city news. Follow her on twitter: @Mary_Bosch6
