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Vicious Anti-Israel Display and Magazine Allowed at North Carolina Public School

A photo of the anti-Israel display at Carrboro High School. Photo: screenshot.

Carrboro High School in North Carolina recently allowed their library to feature an anti-Israel display, which included large messages proclaiming, “RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED WHEN PEOPLE ARE OCCUPIED” and “FREE PALESTINE.” To many Jews, seeing the phrase “resistance is justified” is deeply troubling because it condones and justifies Hamas’ use of rape and sexual violence, torture, murder, and hostage-taking.

Included in this public school display was a call for students to “Learn about the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement” (BDS) against Israel, and a list of companies to boycott that included Starbucks, Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Hewlett Packard, and Burger King, the latter referred to as “APARTHEID KING.” Part of the display was presented in both English and Spanish.

A student group that prepared the display indicated on social media that it was active on Dec. 15. Multiple sources told me that the display was taken down after students, families, and community members protested.

I have met with more than a dozen local parents and current Carrboro high school students, who told me that two student clubs, the Student Socialist Alliance and the Zine club, were responsible. The prominent placement of the anti-Israel display in the school’s library likely left some students, staff, and community members believing that these views may have been endorsed by the school and district.

I have worked full-time in the public schools as a speech-language pathologist for the past 24 years. I have never seen, and cannot imagine, a display that vilifies an entire group of people being allowed anywhere on school grounds. For example, would such a display attacking Egypt, Honduras, Ethiopia, or South Korea be allowed? I highly doubt it. But for some reason, when it comes to Israel and the Jews, someone in authority permitted the display.

A student-created anti-Israel zine, or homemade magazine, was placed in the school’s library, and appeared to be part of the anti-Israel display. The creators of the zine are the Student Socialist Alliance and the Zine club.

The zine states, “The US military and police are terrorist organizations, so is the state of Israel and the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces].” It also says, “Israel is NOT a Jewish state.” The zine refers to Israel as “racist,” “colonial,” and an “apartheid” state, and accuses Israel of “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing.” A student told me that they saw possibly hundreds of these zines being distributed at Carrboro High School in ways that interrupted ongoing school activities. Another student told me the zine is being passed around school and that there may be as many as four versions. I have seen two different versions of the zine.

Carrboro High School allowed the display despite the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools hate speech protocol, which clearly states, “Hate speech is more than just harsh words. It can be any form of expression intended to vilify, humiliate, or incite hatred against a group or class of people.”

Without question, the anti-Israel display at Carrboro High School was a form of hate speech. It vilified Israel and its Jewish majority population. Parents and students that I met with are thankful the display was removed, but remain frustrated that Carrboro High School would ever permit such hate speech in their library in the first place.

A group calling itself the Carrboro High School (CHS) Organizing Alliance posted a series of anti-Israel slides on Instagram using the school logo on each slide. In these slides, Hamas is called a “liberation group;” the slides also say that “Zionism… can only lead to genocide.” In a slide comparing Israelis to Nazis, students wrote, “We should support all anti-imperialist movements, especially those that seek to destroy one of the most brutal concentration camps of all time: the Gaza strip.” According to the US Department of State, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is one example of antisemitism.

Sources tell me that school officials instructed the students to remove the logos. It appears that the entire Instagram account was deleted.

On February 8, students at Chapel Hill High School and Carrboro High School held a “For A Free Palestine: WALK-OUT AGAINST GENOCIDE” that took place during the school day. Many Jewish parents kept their children home that day out of fear for their mental well-being and safety. The Zine club posted a dismissive meme on Instagram, saying, “I’M NOT SORRY OUR PROTESTS BOTHER YOU, YOUR APATHY BOTHERS ME.”

Chapel Hill High principal Steven Sullivan sent parents an email the day before the protest, writing, “We are aware of some social media posts circulating among students (and adults) that encourage a ‘Walk-Out Against Genocide’ … we identified and met with students who are organizing the event in order to discuss concerns and reach an agreement on expectations.” Sullivan continued, “We have made abundantly clear that any vitriolic rhetoric during a peaceful protest will not be permitted.”

There is consensus among most, but not all, parents I spoke with that Chapel Hill High has handled this situation much better than Carrboro High. Multiple sources tell me that a Jewish Student Union at Chapel Hill High may have made part of the difference, as well as specific teachers who actively sought to support and check-in with Jewish students.

Multiple sources — which include parents, students, and community members — believe that some anti-Israel Carrboro High School faculty members are purposefully influencing and abetting this disruption. Some parents are considering filing lawsuits to ensure that Jewish students are treated equally and respectfully, and given a safe learning environment. Some parents are pursuing a Title VI complaint.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools need to uphold and enforce their hate speech policy for all students — including Jewish students.

Peter Reitzes writes about issues related to antisemitism and Israel.

The post Vicious Anti-Israel Display and Magazine Allowed at North Carolina Public School first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

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