Overview
- Derek R. Peterson, the outgoing Faculty Senate chair, used Saturday’s universitywide commencement to praise “pro‑Palestinian student activists” for highlighting “the injustice and inhumanity of Israel’s war in Gaza.”
- President Domenico Grasso apologized hours later, saying Peterson went off the approved text, calling the remarks inappropriate, and promising a review of future commencement programming without announcing discipline.
- Jewish groups and Republican regent candidates criticized the speech, and Sen. Rick Scott urged the federal government to cut funding to the university over the incident.
- Supporters rallied on campus, with more than 1,100 faculty, staff, and students urging the president to retract his apology, and Peterson said he received threats now being handled by campus public safety.
- The dispute follows two years of Gaza‑related protests and reported antisemitic incidents at Michigan, and it underscores how commencement stages have become flashpoints for Israel‑Palestine debates across U.S. campuses.