Detroit — Critics of Wayne State's connections to Israel amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza protested Thursday after the university in the early morning hours dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment up since late last week.
After the camp's removal around 5:30 a.m. Thursday, a group of approximately 50 protesters gathered on the sidewalk at Anthony Wayne Drive and Williams Mall to continue chanting, standing in front of more than a dozen Wayne State police officers in riot gear. The group began demonstrating peacefully around the block from the encampment on State Hall's lawn at 8:15 a.m.
Approximately 12 people were arrested, according to one activist group, though a Wayne State spokesman couldn't be reached to confirm that number.
One protester was detained after he broke off from the group and attempted to take down police tape.
"Why are you scared of your students?" said Lana Kadi, a 20-year-old Wayne State student and one of the protesters. "Why are you not talking to your students?"
Democratic U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents Detroit, joined the protesters around 8:30 a.m., angrily confronting a police officer about ripping off one protester's hijab, or head scarf.
“You guys ripped a hijab off? They’re kids!” she told campus police. "...No amount of training is going to teach you guys not to take a scarf off. Know the diversity of your campus.”
But Jewish leaders applauded the clearing of the pro-Palestinian encampment, whose participants had called for the university to divest from Israeli companies and weapons manufacturers as well as support a cease-fire in Gaza.
"It is a scary time to be a Jewish university student," said Miriam Starkman, executive director of Hillel of Metro Detroit."This encampment was another example of the antisemitism that has permeated the protest culture. The sign saying 'Zionists are not welcome in Detroit' is an example of how exclusive and hateful this movement is."
"We are grateful to President Kimberly Andrews Espy and the Wayne State University leadership for taking action," Starkman continued."She and her administration have been actively listening and thoughtful in their communications. Further, (WSU Police) Chief (Anthony) Holt is a tremendous asset. He and his team keep our campus community safe, and we are lucky to have him."
Former Congressman Mike Rogers, a Brighton Republican who is running for the U.S. Senate, also welcomed the camp's removal and criticized Tlaib's participation.
"I’m thankful that law enforcement was able to return order to Wayne State’s campus this morning and remove these unlawful protesters who were spreading hatred and inhibiting law abiding and tuition paying students while being encouraged and protected by Rashida Tlaib," said Rogers, a former U.S. House intelligence committee chairman, in a statement.
How the clearing happened
The encampment's removal came one week after it was set up on May 23 with roughly a dozen tents. University officials said it presented "legal, health and safety, and operational challenges."
Espy said university police announced to occupants at about 5:30 a.m. that they needed to gather their belongings and leave. Police told occupants to go and then used "an amplified sound system" to make sure the announcement was heard, said a university spokesman.
"After ongoing consultation with the Board of Governors, university leadership, and leaders in the community — and after many good-faith efforts to reach a different conclusion — this was the right time to take this necessary step," Espy said in a statement Thursday morning.
Aside from the safety and legal issues it posed, "the encampment also created an environment of exclusion — one in which some members of our campus community felt unwelcome and unable to fully participate in campus life," Espy said in her statement.
But occupants accused university officials of dismantling the camp when they were at their "most vulnerable." And several said they'll continue to raise questions about the university's connections with Israel.
"We're students here, we care about this university, we want it to grow, we want it to expand ethically," said Kadi, one of the protesters.
Sahar Faraj, another pro-Palestinian demonstrator and Wayne State alum, encouraged protesters to continue to scrutinize school officials with direct ties to Israel.She said protesters are continuing to demand that university administrators disclose the school’s investments in companies with ties to Israel.
Detroit Action, a grassroots activist group, attacked Wayne State's removal of the encampment, calling it a "blatant attack" on free speech rights "by a country determined to silence dissent."
"Student protests have a proud tradition of being on the right side of history, and this time is no different," said Branden Snyder, the group's executive director.
Camp removed
When the encampment was set up on May 23, occupants vowed to stay put until university officials met their demands. They included: fully disclosing its investments, including index fund investments not included in public reports; its divestment of the SSgA S&P 500 index, which includes weapons manufacturers such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman and General Dynamics; guaranteeing university police officials will not travel to Israel as they did in 2019; and developing policies to protect student protesters.
They also wanted the university to establish legal and financial protections for Palestinian students, especially those with an international visa; create scholarships and fellowships for Palestinians and Gazans to study at WSU; and call for a cease-fire in Gaza as a university.
By 7:40 a.m. Thursday, no trace of the encampment remained on State Hall's lawn, except for a painted boulder that read "Free Palestine."
Luay Abuelenain, 55, of Dearborn said his niece, wife and daughter were all detained by Wayne State police after the encampment was removed. His niece is the one who had her hijab ripped off, he said.
"No one is listening," Abuelenain said. "When is it enough?"
Remote operations
Espy, meanwhile, said campus operations would remain remote Thursday. She said a decision on continued remote classes would be announced later Thursday.
Wayne State's encampment was established just days after a similar camp at the University of Michigan set up in late April was removed.
Espy said university leaders engaged with encampment leaders, stressing that the group was trespassing.
"In each conversation, we reiterated that the occupants were trespassing on university property and we asked that the encampment be removed," she said in a statement. "No individual or group is permitted to claim campus property for their own use and deny others access to that property."
On Tuesday, Wayne State University officials said the school was shifting to remote operations effective immediately because the pro-Palestinian encampment posed "an ongoing public safety issue." Protesters said the move was "ridiculous."
On Monday, Tlaib called on Espy and Board of Governors to negotiate a settlement.
Staff Writer Kim Kozlowski contributed.
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