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UNC Event with Bari Weiss Offers a Model for Israel Events on Campus
Students sit on the steps of Wilson Library on the campus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, US, Sept. 20, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Drake
The Program for Public Discourse at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) recently hosted the event, “Frank Bruni and Bari Weiss in Conversation.” For three minutes during the middle of the talk, activists with UNC’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) shouted down the speakers, while slowly exiting the auditorium.
Ahead of the event, SJP publicized its intention to disrupt the speakers. On social media, SJP explained it planned the disruption because Weiss calls out left-wing antisemitism, and expresses concerns about intersectionality. They posted on X/Twitter, “Bari Weiss and her lies are NOT welcomed on campus!”
Days before the event, UNC initiated changes, presumably to deal with the planned disruption. The school changed the event’s starting time and the time for the box office to open. Advanced tickets were no longer available.
We arrived at the UNC box office 30 minutes early, and stood in a line that was already long. Behind me were several dozen SJP activists masked to conceal their identities. A woman in line who had escaped the Holocaust told me she has a family member currently being held hostage in Gaza. She was nervous about the planned protest and considered leaving.
Each person in line was allowed one ticket, presumably for security reasons and to prevent activists from scooping up large portions of the tickets, thereby preventing others from attending. Attendees were asked to provide ID and an email address to receive the tickets electronically.
Attending this UNC event felt similar to going through TSA at the airport. I wondered if SJP’s campus disruptions and support of violence will lead UNC to consider installing metal detectors and searching bags at future events.
Before the event began, I spoke with Jewish UNC students seated in front of me. A sophomore said she loves attending UNC, but that she and her friends are afraid to speak up in class when topics related to Judaism and Israel arise.
UNC staff deliberately seated attendees in the intimate auditorium. Some rows were kept empty. It appeared about one-quarter of the seats were kept empty. This fact frustrated those who came to the event and were unable to obtain tickets.
Almost all of the approximately 45 SJP activists were seated in two groups at the back, immediately adjacent to the doors leading out. This arrangement prevented SJP from marching through the auditorium and toward the speakers. UNC deserves much credit for the seating and other measures.
UNC’s Provost, Christopher Clemons, opened the evening by welcoming the speakers and telling the audience that civil behavior was expected. There were to be no disruptions. The audience could ask questions by writing them on paper cards that would be collected.
About 25 minutes into the event, SJP activists simultaneously stood up and slowly walked out, screeching chants of “Bari Bari, you can’t hide, you’re committing genocide.” Of course, she was not hiding. She was on stage, engaging in public discourse, offering to take questions from community members, including the very activists screaming at her.
The “walkout” amounted to a heckler’s veto that prevented the speakers from talking. Uniformed police, followed by Provost Clemons, ushered SJP activists out of the event. Some activists remained outside the auditorium, heckling and shouting at the audience after the event finished an hour later.
The conversation between Bruni and Weiss offered a model of how two people can engage in civil discourse about important issues while sometimes disagreeing. I will not summarize the impressive conversation here, except to say that Weiss mentioned how her highly respected media website — the Free Press — had recently received criticism for publishing a column by Andrew Sullivan that was viewed as being strongly critical of Israel.
UNC offered free pizza to attendees as we left. There were many uniformed police officers outside, and SJP activists were shouting chants and attempting to intimidate attendees who were leaving. A group of four masked SJP activists shouted at us and followed my group. Police officers appeared to follow the activists who were following us.
One reason SJP activists feel emboldened to act in such menacing ways on campus is that UNC continues to allow them to conceal their identities during protests and disruptions. UNC policy and North Carolina law prohibit the use of masks to hide identity. The great preponderance of the masked audience were SJP members, who were easily recognized as they sat in the same two areas and walked out in unison.
The “arguments” SJP activists screamed at us after the event indicated these young adults have no interest in engaging in difficult conversations. The activists following us were yelling about what they called “genocide pizza” and “apartheid pizza” that UNC offered.
SJP activists screeched that they are Arabs, and that Arabs are Semites too. They continued by screaming that since they are Semites, they can’t be antisemitic. This “logic” continued with the activists saying anyone who calls them antisemitic are actually the real antisemites.
A UNC source told me after the event that “Chancellor Roberts is involved in consequences for violations.” I was later informed that the Provost is as well.
While some local community members feel differently, I believe UNC presented a terrific event, with strong security, and strong warnings to the provocateurs.
The identity of all or most attendees should be known by UNC. The University gave fair warning as to the expected rules of conduct when the event began. Photographs of all attending were presumably taken and available to authorities.
It is likely that SJP activists will continue to intimidate, menace, and disrupt the campus community — while concealing their identities — until UNC makes it clear to them that such behaviors are unacceptable.
Now I ask, what will follow? Will UNC continue to tolerate SJP activists wearing masks to deliberately conceal their identities while disrupting campus functions? Or, will the university act against those who violated University policy? Will SJP be suspended as a University-approved organization?
Peter Reitzes writes about issues related to antisemitism and Israel.
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Tlaib Sports Palestinian Keffiyeh at Carter Funeral, Thanks Late President for ‘Speaking Out Against Apartheid’
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses attendees as she takes part in a protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, US, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), one of the most strident opponents of Israel in Congress, wore a Palestinian keffiyeh to the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, commemorating the late American leader’s advocacy against so-called “apartheid” in the Jewish state.
“Rest in peace, President Jimmy Carter. It was an honor to be there with your family. I wore my Palestinian keffiyeh to show my gratitude for your courageous stance in speaking out against apartheid and standing up for peace,” Tlaib posted on X/Twitter, along with a picture of her keffyeh.
Rest in peace, President Jimmy Carter. It was an honor to be there with your family. I wore my Palestinian keffiyeh to show my gratitude for your courageous stance in speaking out against apartheid and standing up for peace. pic.twitter.com/Vf0XLN2BtJ
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) January 9, 2025
The keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headscarf, has become known as a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian cause and opposition to Israel since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023.
High-profile politicians, including all five living US presidents, attended Carter’s funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC on Thursday. The former president died on Dec. 29, 2024 at 100 years old due to heart failure.
Over the past couple of decades, Carter’s public commentary on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has ruffled feathers among supporters of the Jewish state. In 2006, Carter raised eyebrows after publishing a book titled, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which condemned Israel for constructing settlements in the West Bank and accused the Jewish state of constructing a racially-discriminatory political regime.
In 2009, Carter traveled to the Middle East and held meetings with leaders of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Critics noted that he did not criticize Hamas leadership during his meeting and praised the terrorists as being “frank and honest.”
In 2015, Carter further incensed proponents of the Jewish state when he seemingly defended senior Hamas leader Khaled Mashal and argued that the terrorist group was not an obstacle to peace in the region.
“I don’t believe that [Mashal’s] a terrorist. He’s strongly in favor of the peace process,” Carter said at the time.
“I don’t see that deep commitment on the part of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to make concessions which [former Prime Minister] Menachem Begin did to find peace with his potential enemies,” Carter continued.
Since entering Congress, Tlaib has positioned herself as one of the most vocal anti-Israel critics in US politics. Tlaib, the first Palestinian American woman to serve in the House of Representatives, has repeatedly used her platform to lodge condemnations against Israel.
The congresswoman has accused Israel of committing “apartheid” against Palestinians. In the year following Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7, Tlaib has smeared the Jewish state’s defensive military operations as a “genocide,” calling on US President Joe Biden to force a “ceasefire” between Israel and the terrorist group and implement an “arms embargo” against the Jewish state.
On Thursday, Tlaib slammed the House for passing a bill which would sanction members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its issuing of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant
“What’s their top priority the first week of the new Congress? Lowering costs? Addressing the housing crisis? No, it’s sanctioning the International Criminal Court to protect genocidal maniac Netanyahu so he can continue the genocide in Gaza,” Tlaib wrote on social media.
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Sydney Synagogue Daubed in Antisemitic Graffiti in Latest Attack on Australian Jews
Southern Sydney Synagogue in the suburb of Allawah, Australia, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti on Jan. 10, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
A synagogue in Sydney was daubed in antisemitic graffiti on Friday, police said, the latest in a spate of incidents targeting Jews in Australia.
Police will deploy a special task force to investigate the attack on the Southern Sydney Synagogue in the suburb of Allawah that happened in the early hours of Friday morning, New South Wales state Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna told a news conference.
“The people who do the sort of thing should realize we will be out in force to look for them; we will catch them and prosecute them,” he said.
Television footage showed multiple swastikas painted on the building, along with a message reading “Hitler on top.”
“[There is] no place in Australia, our tolerant multicultural community, for this sort of criminal activity,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference.
The incident is the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents in Australia in the last year, including multiple incidents of graffiti on buildings and cars in Sydney, as well as arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne that police have ruled as terrorism.
Australia has seen an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 and Israel launched its war against the Palestinian terrorist group in Gaza. Some Jewish organizations have said the government has not taken sufficient action in response.
The country launched a task force last month following the Melbourne synagogue blaze, focusing on threats, violence, and hatred towards the Australian Jewish community.
Australia’s ice hockey federation said on Tuesday it had cancelled a planned international qualifying tournament due to safety concerns, with local media reporting the decision was linked to the participation of the Israeli national team.
The post Sydney Synagogue Daubed in Antisemitic Graffiti in Latest Attack on Australian Jews first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Netanyahu Says Houthis Paying ‘Heavy Price’ After Israel Strikes Yemen
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes near Sanaa airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Israeli warplanes bombed a power station and two ports in Houthi-controlled Yemen on Friday in retaliation for the Iran-backed terrorist group’s drone and missile strikes against Israel, and pro-Houthi media said at least one person had been killed and nine wounded.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the Houthi rebels in Yemen were “paying and will continue to pay a heavy price for their aggression against us.”
“Today, we attacked terrorist targets of the Houthi terrorist regime along the western coastal strip and deep in Yemen. The Houthis are a proxy of Iran, and they serve the terrorist objectives of the Iranian axis in the Middle East,” Netanyahu added. “They constitute a danger to Israel and the entire region, including global freedom of navigation.”
The strikes hit the Red Sea port of Ras Issa and the major port of Hodeidah and the Hezyaz central power station in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, and Harf Sufyan District in Amran province also came under air attack, said Al Masirah TV, the main news outlet run by the Houthis.
An employee at the Ras Issa port was killed and six others were injured, while three people, including a worker, were wounded in the strikes on Hezyaz, the outlet said.
The Israeli military said more than 20 aircraft took part in the attack, dropping around 50 bombs and missiles in an operation which required airborne refueling during the 2,000-km (1,240-mile) flight.
Earlier, British security firm Ambrey said airstrikes on the Ras Issa port targeted oil storage facilities in the vicinity of shipping berths, though no merchant vessels were reported to have been damaged.
The supply of petroleum derivatives is stable, the Houthi government spokesperson Hashem Sharaf Eddine said after the attack.
An Israeli military statement confirmed the targets, saying the power station served as a “central source of energy for the Houthi terrorist regime in its military activities.” It added that the targets struck were examples of the “Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure.”
“The Houthi terrorist regime has repeatedly attacked the State of Israel, its citizens and civilian infrastructure in Israel,” including using drones and surface-to-surface missiles, the IDF said. “The State of Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself.”
The Israeli military added that Houthi “attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world.”
“While the Houthi terrorist regime operates as an independent terrorist organization, it relies on Iranian cooperation and funding to attack the State of Israel and its citizens,” it continued. “The IDF will continue to operate at any distance against any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.”
Within the past 48 hours, the Houthis have fired three drones at Israel‘s commercial hub Tel Aviv and more drones and missiles at the US aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said.
The Houthis have targeted Israel, hundreds of kilometers to the north as well as international shipping in waters near Yemen since November 2023 in support of Palestinian terrorists at war with Israel in Gaza.
Israel has responded with airstrikes in Houthi-held areas of Yemen, as have British and US forces in the region.
Netanyahu said last month Israel was only at the beginning of its campaign against the Houthis.
The post Netanyahu Says Houthis Paying ‘Heavy Price’ After Israel Strikes Yemen first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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