20 | JUNE 13 • 2024 
J
N

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eaders of the 
Jewish community 
commended Wayne 
State University administrators 
for understanding the serious 
threat posed to its campus 
by a weeklong encampment. 
The encampment popped 
up on May 23, days after the 
University of Michigan forcibly 
removed an encampment on 
May 21, which lasted 30 days. 
In addition to the 
threatening tone toward 
Jews, the WSU encampment 
was also an impediment to 
students who had enrolled in 
summer courses. Parents and 
students took to social media 
complaining they could not 
participate in the courses they 
had paid for, especially classes 
that required laboratory or 
in-clinic hours. 
The rise and fall of what 
most described as an “anti-
Israel” encampment followed a 
swift timeline. 

THE TIMELINE
On Thursday, May 23, about a 
dozen tents popped up outside 
of State Hall, according to a 
statement released to the JN 

by WSU communications 
officials. 
“The encampment 
presented legal, health and 
safety, and operational 
challenges for our community,” 
read the statement from 
WSU’s Matthew Lockwood. 
 “University leadership 
repeatedly engaged with 
occupants of the encampment 
… In each conversation, we 
reiterated that the occupants 
were trespassing on university 
property, and we asked that 
the encampment be removed.
“No individual or group is 
permitted to claim campus 
property for their own use 
and deny others access to that 
property.” 
Among protesters’ demands 
were to divest financial 
holdings with companies 
doing business in Israel, cut 
ties between WSU Police and 
the training they receive in 
Israel, protect pro-Palestinian 
students, conduct a formal 
inquiry into the harassment 
they experience and honor the 
city of Detroit’s passage of a 
ceasefire resolution. 
On Monday May 27, WSU 

officials again visited the 
camp and offered a May 28 
meeting with WSU President 
Kimberly Andrews Espy if the 
encampment were cleared out. 
In her daily emails com-
municating the situation to 
the WSU community, Espy 
wrote: “Occupants removed 
and relocated fencing, traffic 
safety equipment, and other 
materials from construction 
sites and roadways, creating 
multiple public safety hazards. 
We cannot confirm how many 
of the occupants may be our 
students, but it appears that 
many in the group are not 
affiliated with WSU.”
On Tuesday, May 28, 
WSU suspended in-person 
classes and encouraged 
staff to work remotely to 

avoid any problems with the 
encampment. 
In the early morning hours 
of May 30, WSU Police, after 
giving several warnings, 
shut down the encampment. 
According to a statement 
released by WSU, most of the 
30 participants left peacefully. 
Police arrested about 12 
protesters, six of whom were 
students. They were later all 
released. The statement said 
there will be an enhanced 
security presence on campus 
in the coming weeks. 
In an emailed statement to 
the community on May 30, 
Espy maintained the rights 
of free speech on campus but 
wrote that WSU “will not 
allow actions or conduct that 
limit access to our campus, 

Within one week, the university 
cleared out the protesters.

The Rise 
and Fall of 
Wayne State’s 
Anti-Israel 
Encampment

continued on page 22

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

The WSU anti-Israel 
encampment on 
campus May 23-30

HILLEL OF METRO DETROIT