The University of Wisconsin-Madison suspended Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) for violating five university policies following an April protest at a campus event hosting a former U.S. Ambassador.
SJP and community members protested a La Follette School of Public Affairs event that hosted former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Thomas-Greenfield vetoed four resolutions that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during her tenure under President Joe Biden from 2021-2025.
“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,” SJP’s Instagram post reads.
UW-Madison SJP has organized several protests on campus, including the 12-day encampment on Library Mall in spring of 2024 that called for university divestment from Israel and was grounds for their probation.
UW-Madison spokesperson John Lucus confirmed to the Cardinal Monday that SJP has been suspended.
The hearing committee found the following guidelines violated by SJP:
- Unauthorized distribution of flyers inside Memorial Union and nearby lot 6
- Obstruction of entrances: crowding within 25 feet of Park Street doors to Shannon Hall
- Amplified sound: bullhorn use near building entrances
- Disorderly conduct: pushing against Shannon Hall’s doors after UWPD directives to disperse
- Breach of Probation: violating the conditions of SJP’s existing disciplinary probation from a prior incident
In an Instagram post, SJP said they contested each claim before a committee, which voted against a suspension in favor of an “extended period of disciplinary probation” that would have been in effect until August 2026, however, the Dean of Students “unilaterally” overruled the committee's decision and imposed a suspension of the student organization.
Adam, a member of SJP, told The Daily Cardinal SJP was informed of the suspension last week, though they somewhat expected it after the hearing and investigation process that had taken place since the April protest.
But SJP has fronted a flurry of investigations before this one. In October 2024, the university placed SJP on a 10-month probation for violating five rules of conduct related to the encampment. And, this past December, the university launched an investigation into SJP for violating the university’s Expressive Activity Policy during a protest at a Board of Regents meeting.
The April protest of Thomas-Greenfield’s speech at Shannon Hall saw multiple disruptions from protesters who were consequently escorted out by police. Outside of the event, multiple UW-Madison and Madison Police Department officers were present as protesters pounded on the doors.
In the Instagram post, SJP said the individuals removed by the police were detained indefinitely and without charge rather than being released with a warning. They claim the police “continued to be hostile” to those outside, even “removing an individual from the building” while they were recording on their phone. Though apprehended community members were eventually released, SJP said they did not receive a clear explanation for their detention, with one protester dropped off at an “undisclosed location” without charge.
When asked for clarification on the claims presented above, UWPD’s spokesperson Marc Lovicott said “we stand by our enforcement actions.”
SJP views this suspension as just one of many, as multiple universities across the nation have opened disciplinary proceedings against students and student organizations who have protested Israel's war in Palestine.
“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,” the post read.
If the proposed suspension of SJP is upheld, the organization will be prohibited from conducting any activity such as events or meetings apart from one executive board meeting per week until January 2026, after which the suspension will end and a probation period will follow.
Still, SJP rejects the violations and will appeal their suspension to the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs. Adam said they plan to continue fighting for university divestment from Israel and Palestinian liberation through other organizations such as World BEYOND War, Jewish Voice for Peace and Madison-Rafah Sister City Project.
Ava Menkes is a former managing editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the state news editor. She has covered multiple elections, legislative redistricting, healthcare and campus news. She also led 2024 presidential coverage and a project on news deserts. She previously interned with Wisconsin Watch and Isthmus, and will report with The Nation in 2025 on foreign policy and immigration. Follow her on Twitter at @AvaMenkes.
