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What’s Happening in North Carolina’s High Schools About Israel?
An antisemitic banner hung over the US 1 highway in Cameron, North Carolina in December 2022. Photo: Screenshot
In May, the Zine club at North Carolina’s Carrboro High School made a post on social media celebrating their display in the school’s library that included the Do-It-Yourself Occupation Guide, which reads as a training manual for criminality and domestic terrorism.
The guide provides advice on how to disable alarm systems, break into buildings, and barricade doors. It calls for “organized looting” and “the seizing of buildings.” With accompanying pictures, the guide explains how to use tools such as an angle grinder, bolt cutters, and a crowbar to break into buildings. It advises, “A group may decide it is better to destroy or vandalize a space than to return it to its usual role in good condition.” In its first paragraph, the guide accuses Israel of “genocide” against the Palestinians.
The guide was removed from the library.
Andy Jenks, Chief Communications Officer for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, told me via email: “The material that appeared on what seems to be a student’s Instagram account was neither allowed nor featured by the school or district, and it was addressed quickly once it was brought to the attention of the administrative team.”
This is at least the second time this school year that the Carrboro High School library has had hateful and disturbing materials on display and then removed.
Two months earlier, in March, I reported that the Zine Club and the Student Socialist Alliance at Carrboro High School were responsible for an anti-Israel display in the library that — to many people — appeared to condone Hamas’ use of terrorism, hostage taking, and murder with the slogan: “RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED WHEN PEOPLE ARE OCCUPIED.”
A student created zine (or magazine) that was included with the display referred to Israel as “racist,” “colonial,” and an “apartheid” state, and accused Israel of “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing.”
Parents and community members are frustrated by how long it took to have the anti-Israel display removed, and that just a few months after this incident, the occupation guide was then briefly on display in the library. In addition, after the anti-Israel display was removed, anti-Israel flyers were posted in the school and these were also removed.
Public records now shed more light on this situation. In February, a Jewish parent visiting the school took photos of the anti-Israel display. A school staff member emailed the principal, “I was uncomfortable with her [the parent] taking photos considering the questions she was asking and her visible irritation with the display.”
Shouldn’t the staff member have expressed concerns with the hate speech on display in a public school library rather than that a parent was documenting hate speech?
On Feb. 8, students at Carrboro High School and nearby Chapel Hill High School held a well-advertised protest, “For A Free Palestine: WALK-OUT AGAINST GENOCIDE” that took place during the school day.
Two days before the walkout, public records reveal that a person who appears to be a member of Chapel High School’s School Improvement Team (SIT) emailed fellow SIT members, which included the school’s principal and other school administrators.
She voiced concerns about both the planned walkout and a related anti-Israel social media account: “The site is causing concerns for Jewish students, who are being called white supremacists in comments of posts, and seeing posts advocating for the destruction of all Jews.”
Referring to the upcoming walkout, she wrote, “This is a huge safety issue” and the school needs “to have a plan for our Jewish students who are feeling very unsafe at school right now.” She added that on the day of the planned walkout, “We may need a safety presence at school.”
“These are complicated questions concerning no tolerance for hate speech but also of protection for protesting,” she wrote. “I am hoping that we can pay attention to this and figure out what is right for our campus.”
The schools received many concerns about this walkout from parents and some staff. For example, the night before the protest, a parent wrote to one of the principals: “I do not feel safe having my children in a school district that allows this … There is no way that this walkout is not going to negatively affect Jewish students … I am sickened, hurt, and appalled.”
A staff member sent an email to the principal of Chapel Hill High School, to other school administrators, and to security officers the morning of the protest: “It has been brought to me by several students and some parents that if a student did not actively participate in the protest today, they might possibly be ‘singled out’ for not engaging or be accused of complicity.” He added, “I would like to offer my room as an added option for those students who feel uncomfortable or unsafe during that time period.”
While I appreciate the staff member advocating for students, children should not need a safe room to attend school.
The night before the protest, a parent emailed one of the principals: “While I respect free speech for all, school should foremost be a safe place for all students. The permitted ‘walkout’ is compromising student safety.”
In the end, the administration met with student organizers and allowed the protest. And as a result, many Jewish parents — concerned for their children’s safety and well-being — kept their children home that day.
It is outrageous that a protest was allowed to occur during the school day after it was acknowledged that it may be “a huge safety issue” for Jewish students.
Would the district ever allow protests to occur that posed a huge safety issue for Black, Muslim, Asian, or LGBTQ+ students? I highly doubt it.
There are some additional challenging aspects of this situation. In an email sent the day before the walkout, a teacher at Chapel Hill High School shared with the principal, “Some of the protest organizers are Jewish” and the larger group of protestors “relies on those Jewish students for guidance.” I do not envy administrators and staff who have to navigate this.
Going through the public record emails, it is clear that administration and staff are struggling to understand some of the issues. For example, the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” has been an issue. The night before the walkout, a Jewish parent explained to one of the principals, “If the slogan of this walkout is ‘from the river to the sea,’ which I understand from my son that it is, then your students are chanting for the genocide of Jews.”
In late May, Jenks told me via email: “Our district vehemently rejects any hint of antisemitic behavior, as we do all forms of hate speech. Schools must always be places of joy and kindness, where we value the diverse backgrounds that make us a community.”
When students are kept home from school out of fear or need a safe room to get through the school day, school is no longer joyous or kind.
In the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, the safety of Jewish students appears to be treated as less important than the safety of other students. This is unacceptable. Jewish parents — and all parents — should never have to keep their children home from school or have them in a secure room at school to keep them safe.
Peter Reitzes writes about issues related to antisemitism and Israel.
The post What’s Happening in North Carolina’s High Schools About Israel? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Columbia University Newspaper Endorses Mamdani for New York City Mayor
Candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a Democratic New York City mayoral primary debate, June 4, 2025, in New York, US. Photo: Yuki Iwamura/Pool via REUTERS
Columbia University’s flagship newspaper, The Columbia Daily Spectator, has endorsed a far-left New York City mayoral candidate who has been accused of antisemitism and made anti-Israel activism a cornerstone of his political career.
The Spectator’s editorial board issued the endorsement of Zohran Mamdani, a representative in the New York State Assembly, in a rare moment of summer activity, as most of the university’s student body is on holiday. It comes as the university’s leadership is reportedly taking steps to deal with a surge of campus antisemitism that captured national attention and led the Trump administration to pull federal funding over the school’s alleged failure to combat the crisis.
“Our endorsements reflect the consensus opinion of the editorial board, but we recognize that voters may weigh these issues differently,” the paper said on Tuesday. “As Spectator‘s editorial board, we endorse Zohran Mamdani as our top choice for New York City Mayor. Currently ranked second in most polls, the New York State Assembly member and his campaign have resonated with New Yorkers who have been repeatedly disappointed by the current administration.”
It added, “The Democratic Socialist has grounded his campaign in bread-and-butter issues such as universal child care, free public transportation, and affordable housing, echoing Sen. Bernie Sanders’ brand of economic populism.”
The paper’s choice of Mamdani prompted a slew of responses on social media. A native of Uganda born to parents from India, one of whom is an Oscar nominated filmmaker, Mamdani has refused to recognize the Jewish state of Israel, advocated adoption of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, and suggested that New York City — home to the world’s largest Jewish community outside of Israel — will divest from the country if he is elected.
Earlier this month, he refused to distance himself from the phrase “globalize the intifada,” a slogan that is believed to have inspired a wave of anti-Jewish violence which culminated in the murder of two young Israeli diplomats outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC in May. The Democratic mayoral candidate went as far as comparing the phrase to the motivations behind the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, prompting a rebuke from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
“I think what’s difficult is that the very word has been used by the Holocaust Museum when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, because it’s a word that means struggle,” Mamdani said on the Bulwark podcast. “And as a Muslim man who grew up post-9/11, I’m too familiar in the way in which Arabic words can be twisted, can be distorted, can be used to justify any kind of meaning.”
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was an effort by Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland to fight back as they were set to be deported to concentration camps and killed during the Holocaust. In contrast, the slogan “globalize the intifada” references previous periods of sustained Palestinian terrorism against Jews and Israels known as intifadas, or uprisings.
On another occasion, years before he emerged as a candidate for mayor, Mamdani appeared to threaten that a “third intifada” was forthcoming.
Following the Spectator’s declaration of support for his campaign, Columbia University professor Shai Davidai charged that the paper had violated laws which prevent nonprofit entities, such as the Spectator, from entering the fray of electoral politics.
“The Columbia Spectator has just breached its non-profit status by endorsing a political candidate,” Davidai said. “Please join me in filing a formal complaint with the IRS against the Spectator Publishing Company. It’s time to make our colleges a partisan-free space for education.”
Elisha Baker, who studies Middle East History at Columbia University, said in a statement shared with The Algemeiner and other outlets that the Spectator is essentially throwing its support behind a surge of antisemitic violence called for by anti-Zionists of Mamdani’s mold.
“Zohran Mamdani is a threat to Jews in NYC and Americans everywhere. He marches with the antisemitic and anti-American mob,” Baker said. “A vote for Mamdani is a vote for antisemitism and continued pro-terror chaos on our streets. Especially since the tragic attacks in DC and Boulder, a vote for Mamdani is nothing short of a vote for Jews to stay inside.”
New York City will ultimately determine the merit of the case against the mayoral candidate, who would be the favorite to win the November general election if he prevails over his Democratic opponents, including former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, during Tuesday’s primary.
During the campaign, Cuomo criticized Mamdani’s links to the anti-Zionist movement.
“Yesterday when Zohran Mamdani was asked a direct question about what he thought of the phrase ‘globalize the intifada,’ he dismissed it as ‘language’ ‘that is subject to interpretation,’ Cuomo said in a statement earlier this month. “That is not only wrong – it is dangerous. At a time when we are seeing antisemitism on the rise and in fact witnessing once again violence against Jews resulting in their deaths in Washington DC or their burning in Denver – we know all too well that words matter. They fuel hate. They fuel murder. As the US Holocaust Museum so aptly said, all leaders or those running for office must condemn the use of this battle cry. There are no two sides here.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Calls for UN to Condemn Attacks on Aid Workers, Collaborate Amid Mass ‘Disinformation’
Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has called on the United Nations to publicly condemn the killing of aid workers in Gaza and to collaborate in order to provide relief to the enclave’s population, accusing the UN of perpetuating a “vast disinformation campaign” aimed at tarnishing the US- and Israel-backed foundation’s image.
In a letter sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, GHF executive chairman Rev. Johnnie Moore defended the foundation’s efforts to distribute aid to the civilians of Gaza, the Palestinian enclave that has been ruled by the Hamas terrorist group for nearly two decades.
“Nearly 40 million meals have been distributed in our first month of operations from our Secure Distribution Sites,” Moore wrote, adding that the program has successfully distributed emergency aid to Palestinians in “desperate need” despite constantly operating “under grave threat.”
Moore also criticized the UN, saying that the GHF has “shared our data and our logistical approach” with the global body in hopes of forging a collaboration effort between the two entities. He lamented that the UN has “neither partnered with GHF nor even acknowledged our operational successes.”
“Our work has continued with normal operations amidst an expanding regional conflict, and also a vast disinformation campaign which has sought to stop us from feeding people from the moment we started,” Moore continued. “We regret that your own office has been a victim of this disinformation campaign which has only threatened to further harm the Gazan people.”
The GHF was created because Hamas routinely steals humanitarian aid, leaving civilians facing severe shortages. Documents released by the Israeli military earlier this month showed that Hamas operatives violently took control of approximately 25 percent of incoming aid shipments, which they then resold to civilians at inflated prices.
The GHF operates independently from UN-backed mechanisms, which Hamas has sought to reinstate, arguing that these frameworks are more neutral. Israeli and American officials have rejected those calls, saying Hamas previously exploited UN-run systems to siphon aid for its war effort. The UN has denied those allegations while expressing concerns that the GHF’s approach forces civilians to risk their safety by traveling long distances across active conflict zones to reach food distribution points.
Since the GHF launched operations in late May, there have been reports of Palestinians being shot near distribution sites. In specific cases, Israel has acknowledged targeting what it believed to be armed Hamas operatives using civilians as cover.
In his letter, Moore also criticized the UN for staying “absolutely silent in the wake of a targeted killing of GHF personnel nearly two weeks ago.”
“Their murder was not only a violation of international law, it was an affront to the very principles the UN purports to defend,” the GHF chairman added. He called on the UN to “publicly condemn the targeting of humanitarian workers in Gaza, and to denounce the obstruction of aid by Hamas and other armed factions.”
Moore’s letter came about two weeks after the GHF said that, on the night of June 11, several of its aid workers were killed when Hamas gunmen attacked a bus transporting local staffers.
The group said the vehicle was targeted as it carried more than 20 workers to a distribution site near the city of Khan Younis. In a statement Thursday, GHF said that at least people people were killed and several more were injured.
The bus attack followed days of threats from Hamas directed at the foundation and its workers.
According to Moore, the UN can help the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by working directly with GHD to help distribute aid “at scale” to needy civilians while bypassing “intermediaries.”
“The only credible response to food insecurity is food delivery. Anything less is a deferral of responsibility. We are ready to work with other humanitarian providers to deliver food straight to the Palestinian people and restore order to a system plagued by desperation and disorder,” Moore wrote.
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Netanyahu Declares Historic Win, Says Israel Removed Iran’s Nuclear Threat in 12-Day War
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel in its 12 days of war with Iran had removed the threat of nuclear annihilation and was determined to thwart any attempt by Tehran to revive its program.
“We have removed two immediate existential threats to us – the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles,” he said in video remarks issued by his office.
“If anyone in Iran tries to revive this project, we will work with the same determination and strength to thwart any such attempt. I repeat, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”
Netanyahu called it a historic victory that would stand for generations.
He said Israel never had a better friend in the White House than President Donald Trump, whose US military had dropped massive bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear sites in an attack over the weekend.
“Our friend President Trump has rallied to our side in an unprecedented way. Under his direction, the United States military destroyed the underground enrichment site at Fordow,” Netanyahu said.
He spoke hours after Trump directed stinging criticism at Israel over the scale of strikes Trump said had violated a truce with Iran negotiated by Washington, Israel‘s closest ally.
Netanyahu said Israel‘s work was unfinished. He cited the war against Iran’s ally Hamas in Gaza, where 50 hostages remain in captivity since the Palestinian terrorist group carried out a surprise attack on October 7, 2023.
About 20 are believed to be alive.
“We must complete the campaign against the Iranian axis, defeat Hamas, and bring about the release of all the hostages, both living and dead,” he said.
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