At the University of North Carolina (UNC), an instructor who does not believe the Jewish state has a right to exist is scheduled to begin teaching the recurring course, “The Conflict Over Israel/Palestine.” This is the same individual who recently retweeted, “All of Israel is occupied Palestinian territory,” promoting the dismantling of Israel. Read more here.
Antisemitism is not new to UNC. At a 2019 UNC symposium addressing the conflict in Gaza, the roster of speakers was rife with activists and academics calling for Israel’s destruction and justifying Hamas’ terrorism against Israeli civilians. The audience even applauded a singer’s performance of his self-described “antisemitic song.”
Following the notorious conference, UNC entered into a Resolution Agreement
with the US Department of Education in which UNC agreed to address
antisemitism on campus; however, it seems that the espousing of antisemitism may be an ongoing issue at UNC.
Even worse, the administration does not appear to be taking these concerns seriously, with Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz astoundingly expressing his confidence that this instructor, who holds such blatantly hostile views toward the Jewish State, will nevertheless “create a welcoming and inclusive environment” and offer “a thoughtful presentation of information relevant to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.”
StandWithUs urges UNC to address antisemitism that isolates and vilifies Jewish students on campus by adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
We also urge UNC to: (1) monitor the content of this fall’s “Israel/Palestine” course and make recordings available for the public to do so as well; (2) change the course’s name and description to reflect the instructor’s self-proclaimed biases in teaching the subject matter; (3) lower the course’s credits to reflect that it is an opinion-based elective, not a fact-based, academic survey course; and (4) consider adding another section of the “Israel/Palestine” course with a facilitator who does not support
the eradication of Israel.
Contact UNC today and urge leaders to take a stand against antisemitism:
Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Chancellor: gus@email.unc.edu; (919)-962-1365
Robert A. Blouin, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost: Bob_Blouin@unc.edu;
919-962-2198
David L. Boliek Jr., UNC Board Chair: david.boliek@unc.edu; 919-962-6961
