Over 2,000 UMich Students, Alumni Back Professor Who Praised Anti-Israel Activists

More than 2,000 University of Michigan students, faculty, staff, and alumni have signed petitions backing a professor who praised pro-Palestinian activists during a commencement speech, escalating a growing fight over anti-Israel activism, academic freedom, and Jewish student concerns on campus.

The controversy began after outgoing Faculty Senate chair Prof. Derek Peterson used part of his spring 2026 commencement address Saturday in Ann Arbor to praise anti-Israel student activists. The dispute quickly expanded beyond the speech itself, drawing in university leadership, faculty unions, Jewish organizations, regents, and national political figures.

The University of Michigan has faced repeated demonstrations, vandalism incidents, and protests targeting university officials over the school’s response to the conflict.

“Sing for the pro-Palestinian student activists, who have, over these past two years, opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity of Israel’s war in Gaza,” Peterson said during the ceremony, drawing applause and cheers from parts of the audience.

Peterson later posted the speech on X and said his remarks about student activism had caused “a furor on social media and in UMich administration.” After the video was restored to the university’s YouTube page Monday, Peterson told graduates to “go out there and make good trouble.”

The temporary disappearance of the speech from UMich’s YouTube account led supporters to accuse the university of censorship. However, the university later said the video had been briefly removed because of a copyright issue involving music played before the ceremony, not because of Peterson’s remarks.

University President Domenico Grasso publicly apologized Saturday for the comments, saying Peterson had deviated from approved remarks and did not reflect the university’s position of institutional neutrality.

“Everyone in our community is entitled to their own views, but this was neither the time nor the place,” Grasso said. “Commencement is a time of celebration, recognition, and unity.”

Grasso said the ceremony was intended to congratulate graduates rather than serve as “a platform for personal or political expression.”

The university’s response triggered another wave of backlash from faculty organizations and Peterson supporters. A letter signed by 1,488 faculty, staff, and students demanded that Grasso withdraw his criticism and republish the speech. A separate Monday petition signed by 754 alumni called on the university to protect free speech and academic expression.

The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers also defended Peterson.

“Professor Peterson’s comments – measured, principled, and clearly situated within a broader call to recognize those who work to advance justice – fall squarely within the protected sphere of faculty speech,” the unions said Tuesday.

The groups warned that criticism from university leadership could chill academic freedom and protected expression on campus.

Jewish organizations and some university officials strongly condemned Peterson’s remarks. The Jewish Federation of Detroit said the speech was “deeply insensitive and hurtful to Jewish students and their loved ones,” especially after months of harassment and intimidation targeting Jewish students connected to Israel.

Some regents and regent candidates called for consequences, though university officials acknowledged disciplinary options involving tenured faculty are limited. Republican Senator Rick Scott also called for the university to lose federal funding over the controversy, while Israeli-American businessman Adam Milstein urged Jewish donors to stop supporting the school financially.

Peterson has continued defending his remarks, calling it “ridiculous” to expect university commencements to remain apolitical. Pro-Palestinian groups at UMich have also organized additional letter-writing campaigns supporting him, framing the controversy as part of a wider struggle over speech and activism on American campuses.