Statement on Daily Tar Heel Israel Op-Ed

Edit 8/31/22: Read our UNC Hillel student leaders’ response to the Op-ed here.

North Carolina Hillel is committed to nurturing and inspiring lifelong connection to Jewish life, learning, and Israel on North Carolina campuses. We are proud to welcome many of our students back to campus after they traveled to Israel this summer on educational Hillel programs. Our Hillel engages our community in positive Israel discussions and empowers students to explore and create their own personal relationships with Israel throughout the school year.

As an organization, we bring forward diverse voices to be heard and considered and always endeavor to create respectful dialogue across differences and foster greater understanding and compassion. As our mission statement says, “North Carolina Hillel empowers and inspires students to pursue their own Jewish journeys by creating strong communities and transformative experiences.” We are a resource for Jewish students to explore their multifaceted identities and develop self confidence. And for many of our students, Israel is an essential and unbreakable piece of their Jewish identity.

We are disappointed and concerned by the publication of an op-ed (later removed) that critiqued student travel and study abroad in Israel. When anti-Israel rhetoric is introduced in public discourse, Jewish students are often targeted for harassment and intimidation simply for being Jewish. As an organization representing thousands of Jewish students in North Carolina, and as part of the largest Jewish student organization in the world, we also condemn any threats towards the student author of the op-ed or his family. Violence and threats of violence have no place in our campus community, and are unacceptable at all times. 

The inflammatory anti-Israel language used in the op-ed made many Jewish students feel targeted and that their personal relationships with Israel were invalidated. No one can dictate to members of the Jewish community what our relationship to Israel or our faith is, nor define for us what Zionism or antisemitism is. The gross generalizations and misinformation about Israel and the Jewish community’s connection to Israel contained in the op-ed have harmed our Jewish students’ mental health and well-being.

To all Jewish students, no matter what your relationship to Israel: We are here for you. You are not alone. Thank you to all of the students who reached out to us to share your concerns. If you are seeking a space to discuss how you are feeling or connect with other Jewish students, please reach out to the NC Hillel staff at any time.

We invite the leadership of the Daily Tar Heel to discuss with us the impact of the op-ed on many Jewish students on campus. And in the spirit of continued learning, we invite the entire UNC campus community to join us for a lecture hosted by UNC Hillel on September 13th at the FedEx Global Education Center featuring Ambassador Dennis Ross and Ghaith al-Omari speaking about the future of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process.

Shabbat Shalom.