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Will Events at UNC Prompt a Change in Policy on Anti-Israel Incitement?
Clocktower Quad at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Photo: Warren LeMay/Wikimedia Commons.
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.
The post Will Events at UNC Prompt a Change in Policy on Anti-Israel Incitement? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations into Abraham Accords, Sources Say
US President Donald Trump points a finger as he delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 31, 2025. Photo: Kent Nishimura via Reuters Connect
President Donald Trump’s administration is actively discussing with Azerbaijan the possibility of bringing that nation and some Central Asian allies into the Abraham Accords, hoping to deepen their existing ties with Israel, according to five sources with knowledge of the matter.
As part of the Abraham Accords, inked in 2020 and 2021 during Trump’s first term in office, four Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel after US mediation.
Azerbaijan and every country in Central Asia, by contrast, already have longstanding relations with Israel, meaning that an expansion of the accords to include them would largely be symbolic, focusing on strengthening ties in areas like trade and military cooperation, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Such an expansion would reflect Trump’s openness to pacts that are less ambitious than his administration’s goal to convince regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia to restore ties with Israel while war rages in Gaza.
The kingdom has repeatedly said it would not recognize Israel without steps towards Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state.
Another key sticking point is Azerbaijan’s conflict with its neighbor Armenia, since the Trump administration considers a peace deal between the two Caucasus nations as a precondition to join the Abraham Accords, three sources said.
While Trump officials have publicly floated several potential entrants into the accords, the talks centered on Azerbaijan are among the most structured and serious, the sources said. Two of the sources argued a deal could be reached within months or even weeks.
Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, in March to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Aryeh Lightstone, a key Witkoff aide, met Aliyev later in the spring in part to discuss the Abraham Accords, three of the sources said.
As part of the discussions, Azerbaijani officials have contacted officials in Central Asian nations, including in nearby Kazakhstan, to gauge their interest in a broader Abraham Accords expansion, those sources said. It was not clear which other countries in Central Asia – which includes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan – were contacted.
The State Department, asked for comment, did not discuss specific countries, but said expanding the accords has been one of the key objectives of Trump. “We are working to get more countries to join,” said a US official.
The Azerbaijani government declined to comment.
The White House, the Israeli foreign ministry and the Kazakhstani embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Any new accords would not modify the previous Abraham Accords deals signed by Israel.
OBSTACLES REMAIN
The original Abraham Accords – inked between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan – were centered on restoration of ties. The second round of expansion appears to be morphing into a broader mechanism designed to expand US and Israeli soft power.
Wedged between Russia to the north and Iran to the south, Azerbaijan occupies a critical link in trade flows between Central Asia and the West. The Caucasus and Central Asia are also rich in natural resources, including oil and gas, prompting various major powers to compete for influence in the region.
Expanding the accords to nations that already have diplomatic relations with Israel may also be a means of delivering symbolic wins to a president who is known to talk up even relatively small victories.
Two sources described the discussions involving Central Asia as embryonic – but the discussions with Azerbaijan as relatively advanced.
But challenges remain and there is no guarantee a deal will be reached, particularly with slow progress in talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The two countries, which both won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh – an Azerbaijani region that had a mostly ethnic-Armenian population – broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia.
In 2023, Azerbaijan retook Karabakh, prompting about 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia. Both sides have since said they want to sign a treaty on a formal end to the conflict.
Primarily Christian Armenia and the US have close ties, and the Trump administration is wary of taking action that could upset authorities in Yerevan.
Still, US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump himself, have argued that a peace deal between those two nations is near.
“Armenia and Azerbaijan, we worked magic there,” Trump told reporters earlier in July. “And it’s pretty close.”
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Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara
A Polisario fighter sits on a rock at a forward base, on the outskirts of Tifariti, Western Sahara, Sept. 9, 2016. Photo: Reuters / Zohra Bensemra / File.
US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, saying a Moroccan autonomy plan for the territory was the sole solution to the disputed region, state news agency MAP said on Saturday.
The long-frozen conflict pits Morocco, which considers the territory as its own, against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks an independent state there.
Trump at the end of his first term in office recognized the Moroccan claims to Western Sahara, which has phosphate reserves and rich fishing grounds, as part of a deal under which Morocco agreed to normalize its relations with Israel.
His secretary of state, Marco Rubio, made clear in April that support for Morocco on the issue remained US policy, but these were Trump’s first quoted remarks on the dispute during his second term.
“I also reiterate that the United States recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and supports Morocco’s serious, credible and realistic autonomy proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute,” MAP quoted Trump as saying in a message to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.
“Together we are advancing shared priorities for peace and security in the region, including by building on the Abraham Accords, combating terrorism and expanding commercial cooperation,” Trump said.
As part of the Abraham Accords signed during Trump’s first term, four Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel after US mediation.
In June this year, Britain became the third permanent member of the U.N. Security Council to back an autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty for the territory after the U.S. and France.
Algeria, which has recognized the self-declared Sahrawi Republic, has refused to take part in roundtables convened by the U.N. envoy to Western Sahara and insists on holding a referendum with independence as an option.
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Israel Says Its Missions in UAE Remain Open Despite Reported Security Threats
President Isaac Herzog meets on Dec. 5, 2022, with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi. Photo: GPO/Amos Ben Gershom
i24 News – Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that its missions to the United Arab Emirates are open on Friday and representatives continue to operate at the embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in Dubai in cooperation with local authorities.
This includes, the statement underlined, ensuring the protection of Israeli diplomats.
On Thursday, reports appeared in Israeli media that Israel was evacuating most of its diplomatic staff in the UAE after the National Security Council heightened its travel warning for Israelis staying in the Gulf country for fear of an Iranian or Iran-sponsored attacks.
“We are emphasizing this travel warning given our understanding that terrorist organizations (the Iranians, Hamas, Hezbollah and Global Jihad) are increasing their efforts to harm Israel,” the NSC said in a statement.
After signing the Abraham Accords with Israel in 2020, the UAE has been among the closest regional allies of the Jewish state.
Israel is concerned about its citizens and diplomats being targeted in retaliatory attacks following its 12-day war against Iran last month.
Earlier this year, the UAE sentenced three citizens of Uzbekistan to death for last year’s murder of Israeli-Moldovan rabbi Zvi Cohen.