Today, Marquette students and members of the Milwaukee community met at Milwaukee’s Central Library at 5 p.m. to voice their support for Palestine and encourage Marquette to adopt Students for Justice in Palestine’s BDS (boycott, divest, sanction) resolution.
Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, wore keffiyehs and held signs with a variety of Pro-Palestinian messages. There was one counter-demonstrator present throughout the march wearing a flag around his neck— half the United States flag, half Israeli flag.
The demonstrators stopped traffic and marched down the middle of Wisconsin Ave. until they reached Raynor Library on Marquette’s campus.
At the library, representatives from SJP Marquette, Milwaukee for Palestine and Jewish Voices for Peace all gave speeches. Additionally, some Marquette alumni spoke about how they don’t feel that Marquette is living up to its institutional mission.
“We, the Students for Justice in Palestine, demand institutional accountability and immediate enforcement of the previously passed BDS resolution,” Leen Mortada, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said in a statement at Raynor. “We will not stop our protests, our rallies until Marquette divests as previously agreed.”
Marquette University Student Government passed SJP’s BDS resolution in April 2022. This would mean Marquette would end divest from Israeli goods on campus such as Naf Naf Grill and Sabra products.
After community members finished speaking at Raynor, the demonstrators marched around campus until they ended on Clybourn Street where some demonstrators got into cars around 6:15 p.m. to drive to the encampment at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to support its students.
“Marquette University actively promotes and respects freedom of expression and the exchange of diverse viewpoints,” Marquette University spokesperson Kevin Conway said in a statement.
“The 2022 Marquette University Student Government resolution supporting boycott and divestment of Israel, which was mentioned by demonstration organizers, is a non-binding resolution. The university will continue to work with students from all backgrounds and faith traditions to foster dialogue and empathy for what people are feeling and experiencing due to the Israel-Hamas War. When there is conflict, death and grief in the world that we as an institution cannot fix, we can lean on what we do well: discussion, community, prayer and support services,” Conway said in a statement.
This story is developing
This story was written by Megan Woolard and Julia Abuzzahab. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].
Hope Moses and Patrick Curran contributed to this report.
