Feds open probe into UNC after complaint on anti-Israel and pro-Hamas speech on campus

UNC-Chapel Hill is facing a federal investigation following a complaint stating that the university discriminated against students of Jewish ancestry.

The probe comes as there’s heightened controversy on what the U.S. position should be on the Israel-Hamas war that started in October, as well as debate on the line between free expression rights and hate speech and discrimination.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights added UNC-Chapel Hill on Dec. 22 to its list of institutions that are under what is known as a Title VI investigation for shared-ancestry discrimination. There are 86 institutions with active cases, according to the OCR website.

The federal agency did not respond to a voicemail Thursday from The News & Observer. But it appears that this investigation — first reported by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency — responds to a complaint filed by North Carolina attorney David E. Weisberg. That’s according to a Dec. 22 letter the Office of Civil Rights sent to Weisberg, who shared it with The N&O.

In his federal complaint, Weisberg points to two recent incidents at UNC to back claims of unlawful discrimination against Jewish students. One involves statements made during a UNC panel on Palestine — remarks that led to a response from the university’s chancellor, who said he was “appalled” — and the other involves an assistant professor’s comments to students about Israel.

Reached via phone, Weisberg said the “complaint speaks for itself.”

UNC Media Relations said in a written comment that it’s aware of the complaint “about Jewish students on campus.”

“We will cooperate fully and remain committed to promoting a safe and equitable environment to all members of the Carolina community that is free from harassment and discrimination,” the statement said.

Complaint cites past conference, latest remarks

Weisberg also points to events that occurred in 2019, including a conference at UNC hosted in collaboration with Duke University featuring performances he says were offensive and antisemitic.

Following this event, the Office of Civil Rights reached a resolution agreement in which UNC agreed to take action to “ensure students enrolled in the University are not subjected to a hostile environment and to respond to allegations of antisemitic harassment.”

Recent actions, writes Weisberg, go against this resolution and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids certain kinds of discrimination in federally funded programs.

Weisberg cites the International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s definition of antisemitism, which states that “antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

This definition has been adopted by the U.S. State Department and several European governments, among others. According to The Guardian, more than 100 Israeli and international civil society organizations have asked the United Nations to reject the IHRA definition of antisemitism because they say it blocks Israel from legitimate criticism, including from university students and professors, grassroots organizers and human rights activists.

The latest remarks at UNC: Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s status

One of the two recent events cited in the complaint occurred on Nov. 28, when the university hosted a roundtable talk about “social justice in Palestine.”

During that event, one speaker, Rania Masri with the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, talked about the events on Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a deadly surprise attack into Israel. Hamas, a terrorist organization, controls the Gaza Strip, which is considered an occupied Palestinian territory by the United Nations.

Masri said that Oct. 7 “for many of us from the region was a beautiful day. It was the day in which we saw that, we saw our brothers, we saw our fathers, we saw men break out of a concentration camp,” according to a YouTube recording of the panel posted by Voice4Israel of North Carolina.

Appearing to speak on Hamas paragliders, Masri questioned how, while facing occupation, they were able to develop “the technique and the resilience to literally fly.”

She could not be reached by The N&O through the NCEJN.

Over 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, including 36 children, with the majority killed in the Oct. 7 attack, reports the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, citing Israeli authorities.

Following the surprise attack, Israel launched a reprisal, which has led to the killing of over 21,000 people in Gaza, with about 70% of those killed women and children, the OCHA said, citing Gaza authorities. Many more are missing and almost 2 million are displaced, said the OCHA in a Dec. 29 report.

The other recent event, according to the complaint, occurred in late October, and involved Rishi Chebrolu, an assistant professor within the UNC Communications Department. According to a report by Peter Reitzes in the news outlet The Algemeiner, Chebrolu spoke to students in support of a now-deleted Oct. 8 social media post by UNC Students for Justice in Palestine supporting violence as a pathway to liberation.

Chebrolu, according to the same report, also made comments denouncing Israeli and U.S. actions in Gaza. The N&O emailed the professor, who said via email he had been advised by the university against commenting.

What UNC has said

In an Oct. 13 email to the campus community, UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz condemned Hamas’ actions and said that “we will not stand for acts of violence on our campus.”

“While we have a commitment to allow both internal and external groups to express their opinions under the First Amendment, we also strive to rise above hateful rhetoric and engage in civil discourse and educated debate,” Guskiewicz wrote.

In a Nov. 9 email, Guskiewicz called on UNC to “demonstrate how people of different backgrounds and perspectives can come together.” He again highlighted First Amendment rights but wrote that the university was “disappointed by some of the messaging we have seen and heard in our classrooms, on our sidewalks and in social media posts aimed at members or groups in our community.”

And in a Dec. 1 email, Guskiewicz wrote that he was “appalled by the remarks of a visiting speaker” at the Nov. 28 event, where Masri spoke, adding that the comments “did not align with the values of our university community.”

Both these UNC events were reported on by Reitzes, a speech-language pathologist in Chapel Hill, who writes on topics related to Israel. His reports were used to back Weisberg’s complaint.

Asked for comment, Reitzes said in an email that “UNC-Chapel Hill has fostered a hostile campus environment towards Jewish and pro-Israel students for years. I hope OCR’s investigation leads to UNC providing Jewish and pro-Israel students and faculty with a safe and productive campus environment that is institutionally neutral on Israel and the Palestinians.”

What happens next?

Following the opening of an investigation, OCR investigates and then, if its findings merit action, seeks a resolution agreement with the university.

In the letter to Weisberg on opening the investigation, Dan Greenspahn, an OCR staffer, says that “opening an investigation in no way implies that OCR has made a determination on the merits of the complaint,” and that during the investigation, OCR will analyze information from the complainant, the University and other sources.

Greenspahn also writes that the complaint could be resolved prior to the conclusion of the investigation if the university expresses interest in doing so and an appropriate resolution is found. If a resolution agreement is not reached informally, then OCR proposes a formal resolution agreement, which calls for remedial actions according to its website.