It started when a pro-Israel chat group posted an event to take place on Dec. 7 at the University of North Carolina, as students in Hong-An Truong’s Art as Social Action class planned to celebrate their final project, “A fig tree grows in Palestine.”
Their work would be a new addition to the Alumni Sculpture Garden. The three-hour celebration would include music, food and a teach-in. Hong-An is a member of UNC’s Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine. She supported the anti-Israel tent encampments that took place last spring and used her megaphone to proclaim her intention to withhold grades to protest the dismantling of them.
Participants in the chat group debated attending the event. Some wondered if it would be antisemitic. Others believed the project to be inherently antisemitic due to the focus on “Palestine.” One said that “Palestine can exist without the erasure of Israel.” No one on the chat could define the borders of “Palestine” other than to say that Israel established the border, and decides where the walls and checkpoints are placed. Confusion regarding Israel’s history was evident.
This confusion extends beyond the Jewish community. When asked where Palestine is located at a ceasefire hearing before the Raleigh City Council, an elderly woman wearing a keffiyeh said, “Palestine … it’s, it’s Gaza.” At a Duke University pro-Hamas rally, an Arab woman responded with: “Do you know where Israel is?”
Why so many different answers regarding the location and borders of “Palestine?” Because it does not exist. Why do people use the word then? Years ago, it was rarely heard. It seems that those intent on Israel’s destruction have introduced the term into our language and culture as a way to erase Israel, Jewish history and rights to the land while replacing it with a Muslim Arab state.
“Palestine” has become a reality in the minds of students and the public because, as Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels said, “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it.” The goal to erase and replace Israel with an Arab Islamic state was clear at the recent Palestine convention in Chicago. Merchandise sold showed a map of Israel, including Judea and Samaria, labeling it all as “Palestine,” not Israel.
In academia, and even in some synagogues, the erasure is done in stages by the use of the term “Israel/Palestine” instead of Israel. When asked about this change, one local pro-Israel University of North Carolina academic said the name was altered in deference to the concerns of the “Palestinians.” One wonders why Israelis are not granted such deference.
It’s no surprise that the University of North Carolina art event was replete with the usual antisemitic tropes. A speaker proclaimed that “a settler” was “trying to steal a house in Bethlehem.” Printed booklets included false claims about “ancient ties between Palestinian people and their homeland,” an “Israeli occupation,” and more. As promised, food and music were provided, likely at taxpayer expense. There were also booths and displays with the “Palestinian” flag.
So, when an event features “Palestine,” expect antisemitism. Expect lies about Israel and the demonization of Israel and Jews. The “Palestine” invention is not about history. It is not about tolerance. It is not about co-existence. It is antisemitic to the core. Those who are sincere about stopping the exponential rise in antisemitism need to understand this, learn history, put an end to antisemitic propaganda and fire those involved in promoting it.
University of North Carolina, are you listening?