SIGN PETITION HERE: https://tinyurl.com/2tynjmxn
The Issue
Students for Justice in Palestine has been suspended by UW-Madison’s Dean of Students and the Office of Student Conduct. This sanction is based on the accusation that SJP violated five university policies at a recent event. We reject these accusations. Each claim was contested before a hearing committee, which voted against a suspension in favor of an extended period of disciplinary probation. According to the committee, their findings did not “warrant the escalation to disciplinary suspension.” However, the committee decision was unilaterally overruled by the Dean of Students, who imposed a suspension on SJP that is now in effect.
On April 1st, 2025, students and community members in Madison protested an event involving Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the former United States Ambassador to the United Nations. During her tenure at the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield vetoed four resolutions that would have pressed for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Those actions cemented US complicity in the genocide and directly blocked efforts to bring about an end to the horrific murder of Palestinians in Gaza. The event was hosted by UW-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs. Such a flagrant display of support for genocidal complicity, and callous indifference to the suffering experienced by affected members in our community, was unacceptable to many of us and could only be met with clear opposition.
On the day of the event, SJP organized a protest outside the venue. At the same time, a few Madison community members were inside the event, verbally challenging Thomas-Greenfield over her role in enabling the genocide in Gaza. These community members were immediately removed by the police. However, rather than being released with a warning, they were detained indefinitely and without charge. As word about the police’s aggression spread, a number of concerned individuals moved closer to the venue with the intent of recording the police’s activity (as permitted by law). The police continued to be hostile and failed to communicate with protestors and other conscientious community members, on one occasion, violently removing an individual from the building while they were simply holding a phone to record the unfolding events. While some of the apprehended community members were eventually released (without clear explanation for their detention), one was driven away and dropped off at a different and undisclosed location–also without charge or explanation.
This event constitutes yet another example of police in Madison escalating a situation with protestors. Rather than promptly releasing those detained without charge, they chose instead to resort to violence and intimidation of protestors. Rather than providing clear information to protestors and organisers, they opted to call in reinforcements and threaten mass arrest. The university is therefore attempting to punish SJP for the reasonable reaction of crowd members whose goal was to keep others safe in the face of unwarranted aggression. If the proposed suspension of SJP is upheld, the organization will be prohibited from conducting any meaningful activity until January of 2026, after which the suspension will end and a probation period will follow.
It is notable that the investigative report on the event does not––because it cannot––accuse SJP of directly planning or executing violations. Rather, the report says,“SJP provided the context for the alleged violation”. Even setting aside the vagueness of this charge, it is clear that the “context for the alleged violation” was in fact provided by the escalatory tactics of the police, the mismanagement of university officials, and the La Follette School’s callous and baffling decision to host Thomas–Greenfield.
As we approach the twenty-third month of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, the Israeli state has re-intensified its efforts to eradicate Palestinians, leading now to deaths by man-made starvation and suffering on an ever-widening scale. Simultaneously, Israel’s parliament has overwhelmingly approved a symbolic declaration to annex the West Bank. At this moment, it is more important than ever for all people of conscience to stand up for Palestinian liberation.
This suspension intends to suppress these voices on our campus such that genocide may be perpetrated in our names––and in silence. This conforms with the pattern of other university administrations who have been suspending pro-Palestine student organizations, withholding degrees, and barring students from campus and graduation events simply for speaking up about Palestine. As such, this attack on the capacity of SJP to organize mirrors decades-old attacks in the United States––attacks threatening the right of Palestinians and their allies to the full freedom of expression and association. Consider how the Trump administration has threatened to revoke federal funding from UW-Madison unless the UW administration cracks down on anti-Zionist expression. Understood against this backdrop, SJP’s unilateral suspension is yet another smoking gun, revealing how the university is enrolled in the institutionalization of Zionism and is more than willing to capitulate to U.S. imperialism.
We stand firm in our rejection of the spurious accusations levied against SJP. We will be appealing this suspension to the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, and we will continue to fight for UW to divest its funds from Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. SJP’s capacity is severely limited as long as we remain suspended, so we call on Madison community members to keep up the fight for Palestinian liberation. Alongside following other local organizations like JVP and Madison-Rafah Sister-City Project, we ask that you sign this petition to prevent the unilateral censorship of pro-Palestine speech at UW-Madison.
Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement 
You must be logged in to post a comment.