University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee “temporarily suspended” five student groups in connection with intimidating Instagram posts directed at those who support Israel.
The suspensions came as part of the university’s investigation, according to a July 31 statement. In all, it was five student organizations associated with a coalition that posted “alarming” messages on Instagram, according to the statement.
A UWM spokesperson, contacted in late August, said there were no updates to offer since the July 31 statement and the school could not comment on the status of the suspensions.
“A July 19 Instagram story post to the uwm4palicoalition account included intimidating language aimed at Jewish community members and organizations that support Israel,” reads the statement. “UWM strongly denounced the post, and any form of antisemitism. A subsequent Instagram post by the coalition reaffirmed their original message.”
The UWM student organizations that are “temporarily suspended” include Students for Justice in Palestine, the Muslim Student Association, Students for a Democratic Society, Young Democratic Socialists of America and Un-PAC, all of which identified as part of the coalition in the spring, according to the school’s statement.
An Instagram post from the account declared that any organization that supports Israel is “not welcome” at UWM. “This includes the local extremist groups such as Hillel, Jewish Federation, etc.,” read the post. It continued: “We refuse to normalize extremists and extremist groups walking around our campus.”
A Milwaukee Jewish Federation mass email sent July 21 expressed concern about “the final line that threatened, ‘Any organization that has not separated themselves from Israel will be treated accordingly as extremist criminals. Stay tuned.’” The Federation reports it communicated extensively with university and security officials.
“UWM takes this post seriously and recognizes that the language in it, if acted upon, would undermine the safety of the UWM community, especially Jewish individuals and organizations,” read an initial UWM statement, regarding the Instagram post. “Where speech is not protected by the First Amendment, UWM will address it through appropriate processes, which could include student and student organization disciplinary processes. While hateful or intimidating speech is often legally protected, it conflicts with the respect and conduct we ask of each member of our community.”
The initial UWM statement noted that campus police are available for assistance and that the Instagram post “included intimidating language aimed at Jewish community members and organizations on campus that support Israel. UWM strongly denounces these statements and denounces any form of antisemitism, and we will be actively monitoring campus as a result. Every student, employee and community member must be safe on our campus.”
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