Approximately 80 students at the University of Maine gathered in protest on March 7, demanding that the University divest from corporations linked to Israeli-military funding and defense. Led by UMaine Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP), the protest called for the Board of Trustees (BoT) to reallocate university funds away from companies they claim are complicit in violence against Palestinians.
“The people united will never be defeated,” chanted participants. Despite below-freezing weather, the event drew in a record number of people for a UMaine JVP-led demonstration. The crowd was led by UMaine JVP president Talia Cullum, who encouraged students to attend the BoT meeting on March 10.
“Tell them that they can’t comply forever. Tell them at some point very soon they’ll have to start fighting for our interests,” said Cullum to the crowd.
For the first time, a JVP protest attracted counter protesters. Standing on the sidewalk in front of the steps was less than a dozen people waving Israeli flags. By the end of the protest, two remained.
The student protesters set two clear demands: for the BoT to divest the $1.6 million invested in “companies that have been proven to be complicit in Israel’s apartheid and genocide campaigns in Gaza,” and for the BoT to “adopt the Jerusalem declaration on antisemitism,” said Lucas Bent, an event speaker, student and member of UMaine JVP. The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism establishes clear definitions on what constitutes antisemitism.
For instance, in reference to what defines antisemitism, the declaration reads “Israel and Palestine: examples that, on the face of it, are not antisemitic…[include] supporting the Palestinian demand for justice and the full grant of their political, national, civil and human rights, as encapsulated in international law.”
“Unfortunately, on December 17, 2024, the executive committee of the UMaine Board of Trustees summarily rejected all of our demands at once, without a formal vote. Truthfully, our complicity is bombing people… This is fascism and right now our Board of Trustees is sitting in compliance with its every mandate. Do we take Fascism sitting down?” said Bent.
This gathering follows President Trump’s threat to defund schools that allow such protests to occur. UMaine JVP president Talia Cullum shared her thoughts on the threat.
“We will not back down from big threats from the president, and hopefully we can set an example for our university’s administration,” said Cullum.
The students were not only asking that the University divest from Israel, but also demanded that the voices of the people be heard by the administration. Asher Reisman, history graduate student at UMaine, called for the people to fight for their rights to democracy.
“In 1859, hundreds of thousands of Black Americans joined the Union cause following the hanging of John Brown,” said Reisman. “This grew abolition and civil rights from a fringe idea to the cause of the greatest military and social enterprise up to that time. We cannot forget this, we cannot forget the possibility of radical action at scale.”
The protest concluded with a peaceful march around the campus and down the Memorial Union toward the Alfond Arena. All along the way, the crowd chanted their demands: “Free, Free Palestine. UMS must divest. We will not stop, we will not rest.”
Any students interested in supporting or joining UMaine JVP can learn more through its website. Additionally, JVP members will be giving public commentary at an upcoming BoT meeting on March 10 at 10 a.m. at the Wells Conference Center.
