MILWAUKEE — Some Jewish community leaders and students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee said they are angry about the deal university leadership made with pro-Palestinian protesters, who camped out on campus for two weeks.

This comes as Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman posted a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, that read, in part, “I am disappointed by the course taken by UW-Milwaukee, and I am continuing to assess the decision-making process that led to this result.”

Rabbi Joshua Herman, executive director of Hillel Milwaukee, said UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone rewarded protesters who broke state law, while alienating Jewish students and alumni.

“Not a day went by the last couple of weeks where a Jewish student didn’t come at some point in tears into this building saying that they feel alienated, they feel unsafe and they feel unwelcome on the UWM campus,” said Herman.

Though it’s based at UW-Milwaukee, Hillel Milwaukee celebrates Jewish culture and faith at colleges and universities across southeast Wisconsin. Jewish students from all over the area gather at Hillel Milwaukee.

“I get dirty looks every once in a while, when I wear shirts with Hebrew writing or the Israeli flag on it,” said Dylan Woodbury, a student at Marquette University who spends a lot of time at Hillel Milwaukee.

Woodbury said he feels the need to be a supportive presence at UW-Milwaukee in light of the deal made between university leadership and pro-Palestinian protesters. That deal included UW-Milwaukee calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and agreeing to a private meeting with student representatives of the UWM Popular University for Palestine Coalition.

“Seeing the chancellor’s letter, it’s kind of obvious that he just wanted the encampments gone,” said Woodbury. “It was ruining their grass. He wanted it to be over because, I mean, he looks at these other colleges, and they’re getting their commencements ruined or cancelled, or their whole campus is going downhill, and so it’s an easy way out to just say, ‘Ok, you get what you want.’”

Herman said Mone never met with Jewish students during the pro-Palestinian protesting on campus and has still not set up a meeting with them after the protesting ended.

“The chancellor capitulated to all the protesters’ demands and did so while adopting their really offensive and false narratives and rhetoric,” said Herman. “Additionally, he did all of this without really making any concerted effort to meet with Jewish students. The chancellor has an obligation to really acknowledge the rights of all of the students at UWM, and not simply those who break the law and make the most noise.”

Herman said many Jewish students and alumni have reached out and are questioning their commitment to, and support of, UW-Milwaukee.

In response to the Jewish community’s outrage, UW-Milwaukee leadership released a statement that said they are “taking time to understand the concerns before responding comprehensively, which we plan to do soon.”

The letter UW-Milwaukee leadership sent out detailing the deal made with pro-Palestinian protesters did reference the Hamas attacks on Israel. It read in part: “We also condemn the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, resulting in the killing of 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians, military personnel, and police… We also call for the release of the remaining Israeli and International hostages held by Hamas.”

To read the letter explaining the agreement between protesters and UW-Milwaukee, click here.