Last week, students at UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, and other Wisconsin campuses joined thousands of students and faculty at college campuses across the country taking a stand with the people of Palestine, particularly the people under siege in Gaza. We stand with them, especially those who have been arrested, beaten and jailed for their participation in these encampments at UW-Madison, Columbia University, UCLA, Portland State, and elsewhere.

Last week, students at UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, and other Wisconsin campuses joined thousands of students and faculty at college campuses across the country taking a stand with the people of Palestine, particularly the people under siege in Gaza. We stand with them, especially those who have been arrested, beaten and jailed for their participation in these encampments at UW-Madison, Columbia University, UCLA, Portland State, and elsewhere.

Demands vary from campus to campus, but three stand out:

• Stop Israeli military action in Gaza and other occupied territories
• Stop US government support to the Israeli military
• Stop university funding of the Israeli apartheid and occupation regime

As Greens, we support these demands (See the GPUS platform plank). To make our support more concrete, the Wisconsin Green Party recently joined the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine.

President Biden has implied that those who were arrested were guilty of being violent agents of chaos. "Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest," he said. There has been no evidence that this behavior occurred in these encampments. Perhaps he was talking about the police? 

Meanwhile, the real issues drag on:  the Israeli government continues to bomb every square foot in Gaza. More women and children die. Famine stalks the remaining survivors. And the hostages aren’t yet home. 

The Israeli government hopes to take advantage of the idea that a people who have been victimized by genocidal regimes could never commit genocide themselves. Unfortunately, the evidence generated since October 7, 2023 contradicts that claim.

Wisconsin voters can speak loudly against the genocide in Palestine in November. The Green Party will nominate a firm defender of the Palestinian people for president in August. Ojibwe National Diplomat Veteran for Peace & Sustainability Jo’Nathan Kingfisher is running for the US Senate, and Chester Todd is running for Congress in the First District in southeastern Wisconsin. We invite you to join these campaigns!