UW-Milwaukee suspends student groups after antisemitic social media post

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee announced Wednesday five student organizations have been temporarily suspended after posting antisemitic language on social media accounts.

The groups are associated with a coalition that posted the “alarming” messages on Instagram last week, according to the university.

“A July 19 Instagram story post to the uwm4palicoalition account included intimidating language aimed at Jewish community members and organizations that support Israel,” according to a statement from the school. “UWM strongly denounced the post, and any form of antisemitism.”

A subsequent Instagram post by the coalition reaffirmed their original message.

Both messages have since been removed. In a recent post the group thanks UWM for bring attention to the Instagram account.

“We refuse to shy away from the fact that any support of Israel is considered an extremist position, only held by extremists, and we refuse to normalize extremism on our campus,” the post says.

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.

Miryam Rosenzweig, president and CEO, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, said she is glad UWM and the UW System is taking the safety of students seriously and investigating all incidents of harassment or intimidation.

“Making UWM a safe and welcoming environment for all students, including Jewish students, without exception must be the overarching priority of the largest urban university in Wisconsin,” Rosenweig said.

In May, a pro-Palestinian encampments occupied UWM’s campus for about a week.

Chancellor Mark Mone came under fire from Jewish groups and Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman for a deal he struck with protestors to end the encampment, which included a call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Rothman called the agreement “disappointing,” and Mone later said he should not have weighed in on deeply complex geopolitical and historical issues.