Will Events at UNC Prompt a Change in Policy on Anti-Israel Incitement?

On or near October 20, the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) published a “Solidarity Statement” with Palestinians.

The statement read, “We are in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle against Israeli settler colonialism and occupation and support Palestinians in Gaza who are being subjected to ongoing Israeli military violence through indiscriminate bombing.” They added, “We oppose the active genocide of a dispossessed people.”

A recommended resource includes “A Textbook Case of Genocide” which states, “Israel’s goal is to destroy the Palestinians of Gaza.”

Correspondence about this issue was included within hundreds of pages of public records I recently received from UNC.

On October 28, a UNC professor emailed the School’s Provost, Christopher Clemens, saying, “This [solidarity statement] would seem to be a clear violation of UNC’s policy of institutional neutrality, which is based on NC Senate Bill 195 and the Trustee resolution on institutional neutrality.”

On November 9, Clemens sent Ariana E. Vigil, the Department’s chair, an email of concern, stating:

The solidarity statement on your website as written appears to be an institutional statement. I understand Dean White has offered a process to review it for posting on the departmental website, which requires approval by legal and communications. If you do not wish to follow that procedure, then the statement needs to reflect clearly and unambiguously that it is the opinion of those who wrote it and not the institution. This would best be accomplished by moving it to personal websites. Whatever choice you and the faculty make, it is my hope this can be resolved by Monday, November 13.

This “Solidarity Statement” remains on the department’s website. It appears they removed the announcement of the statement from the site while keeping the full statement on the site.

In 2021, this same UNC department signed a statement declaring, “We stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine,” accusing Israel of the “indiscriminate bombing of Gaza.”

Other UNC departments may have recently breached this legal expectation of institutional neutrality.

On November 28, I attended and reported on the event “No Peace Without Justice: A Round-Table Talk about Social Justice in Palestine,” which several UNC departments jointly sponsored.

Sara Smith, an advisory board member of the UNC Women’s and Gender Studies Department, introduced the panel and was a moderator. The Department of Geography and Environment was one of the sponsors of this hateful event, as was the UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies.

Dr. Rania Masri, a speaker, said: “October 7 for many of us from the region was a beautiful day.” She spoke with pride and admiration for Hamas and their paragliders, saying she is not “the least bit apologetic of the violence of the oppressed or the occupied,” adding, “Let us demand the eradication of Zionism.”

Among the seven panelists, two moderators, and UNC professors present, not one appeared concerned by what Masri said, no one challenged or questioned her.

On December 15, Dean James White of UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, issued a strong public statement about this event, which leaves me cautiously optimistic. He wrote:

On Nov. 28, a panel discussion took place in one of our departments in which a guest speaker made remarks that I found abhorrent and antithetical to what the university represents, which is a place where debate—even vigorous, contentious debate—advances our knowledge and understanding of complex topics. You have heard me speak often about our desire to model civil discourse and educate our students in having difficult conversations. That event failed in this regard. I join Chancellor Guskiewicz in his condemnation of the visitor’s remarks, which glorified violence. Yes, even hate speech is protected speech, but we have a responsibility in the College to ensure that we are providing an atmosphere that is conducive to learning for all students. Plainly put, antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of prejudice are wrong, and prohibited discrimination and harassment will not be tolerated at Carolina.

On December 15, the Department of Geography and Environment also issued a statement on its website: “The appalling remarks made by one of the speakers at the [Nov. 28] event do not represent the position of the Department of Geography and Environment.”

The UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies put at the top of their website a message saying, “Click here to read Dean Jim White’s statement on the events of Nov. 28.”

Dean White’s statement and Provost Clemens’ email to the chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies Department are solid steps in the right direction. Now, UNC needs to do much more to provide Jewish and pro-Israel students with a safe and productive campus environment that is institutionally neutral on Israel and the Palestinians.

Peter Reitzes writes about issues related to antisemitism and Israel.