Milwaukee, WI – On March 14, protesters rallied in front of Chancellor Mark Mone’s mansion demanding UW-Milwaukee cut ties with Israel. Despite the constant rain and cops tailing the caravan headed to the mansion, the protesters remained steadfast in their commitment to the campaign to cut ties with genocide.

The rally was hosted by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at UWM, the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC), and the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

UWM SDS’s campaign, which is sponsored by the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine, aims to cut financial ties with Israel, end study abroad trips to Israel, change the name of the Golda Meir Library, and recently, drop the charges on the Milwaukee 5. There have been consistent militant actions in the spite of the repression.

Sara Onitsuka, chair of the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee and a UWM alumnus, brought attention to the connection between the ongoing SDS and MAC campaigns, stating, “I am so proud to stand here in solidarity with the student movement today, following the footsteps in the many decades-long solidarity between the student and anti-war movements.”

Astronautics, with its headquarters in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and a subsidiary in Israel, frequents UWM career fairs, but they did not present themselves at the most recent club fair, knowing they are not welcome. Onitsuka finished with a resounding chant, “From Milwaukee to Falastin, end the U.S. war machine!’’

Patricia Fish, co-chair of UWM SDS and part of the Milwaukee 5, called out Chancellor Mone, stating, “Over 30,000 Palestinians are dead. Our school is complicit! How can you not have a sense of urgency to stop a fucking genocide! UWM and Chancellor Mone are standing on the wrong side of history, and we won’t forget. If you are complicit, if you are neutral, you are guilty!”

To end, Kayla Patterson, of UWM SDS said, “I can look back on the events February 9 and laugh. One of the pigs that day covered his ears because we were chanting so loud, prompting ‘prohibited noise’ charges. We had them scrambling, and it makes it clear that the police don’t anticipate us to fight back and use our first amendment rights on campus.”

Patterson finished by saying, “We give them power when we accept their fear tactics, so we need to keep up the same energy and make them fear us instead!”

The students and community made it clear that rain or shine, on or off campus, they will stay active in the struggle to cut ties with genocide.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement #International #Palestine #SDS #SDSUWM #MAC