SJP Under Fire at UNC

UNC Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is taking a close look at the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Some are questioning why SJP has not been suspended from campus. Algemeiner asks why there is no suspension for SJP after they virtually celebrated the October 7 attack by Hamas in which 1200+ people were slaughtered and over 200 taken hostage. This appears to be one of the most egregious displays seen on an American university campus in the wake of October 7,

Here is how the Daily Tarheel is reporting the issue. The Daily Tarheel also has videos of a demonstration led by SJP on October 12.

What could be more despicable than making a public statement on October 8 defending the horrific violence by Hamas the previous day? What could be more despicable than using images of paragliders (used to land Hamas killers in Israel on October 7)?

What could be more despicable than a Christian cleric defending the actions of Hamas on October 7?

Rev. Mark Davidson (Daily Tarheel)

"Rev. Mark Davidson, executive director of Voices for Justice in Palestine, spoke at a pro-Palestine protest on the steps of Wilson Library on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. 

“We contend the Hamas attack, as horrible and shocking as it was, but nevertheless, we understood in this broader context they were Palestinian freedom fighters using armed resistance in [an] attempt to throw off their Israeli colonizers,” he said in his speech."

-Daily Tarheel

Today we have learned that Claudine Gay has (finally) resigned as president of Harvard. Given what we now know about UNC, I think it is proper and fitting that the president of UNC (Peter Hans) and the chancellor at Chapel Hill (Kevin Guskiewicz) be called to testify before the House of Representatives and be asked if the above displays are in accordance with the UNC code of conduct and the "values" that so many universities prattle on endlessly about when asked uncomfortable questions. 

It is with sadness that I read this news. My mother was a student at UNC Chapel Hill (1941), and I have always rooted for their sports teams. This is more important. It is not the first time this campus has had problems. SJP is a cancer at UNC, just as it is a cancer in every university where they hold a chapter.