Pro-Israel email blast targets NC school district after students ‘walk out against genocide’

A student walkout last week at two Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools decrying genocide in Gaza has unleashed a torrent of cloned emails to the district and Chapel Hill town officials.

The emails, which appeared to be generated by the group Unified Jewish Voices, called for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools to cancel any clubs promoting hate and antisemitism, prohibit flyers and materials promoting those views, and to fire any teacher found using those materials in class.

The district started receiving emails from the community, including Jewish staff members and families, before a Feb. 6 Instagram post was circulated about the student-led “Walk-out Against Genocide” planned for two days later, district spokesman Andy Jenks said.

Principals at both schools reached out to families before the Feb. 8 walkout to let them know what was happening and that resources were available for students and families uncomfortable with the protest’s goals, he said.

“I think there is a significant amount of concern about what did or did not take place, and we’ve been attempting to communicate that to our families,” Jenks said.

“We want to make very clear ... that our first priority is the safety and wellbeing of everyone within the school, particularly our Jewish students,” he said, adding that the district condemns “any form of antisemitism and Islamophobia in our schools and community.”

However, the district also supports social justice action and encourages students to be informed advocates on topics they care about, Jenks said, by encouraging dialogue, active listening and an understanding of “how rhetoric and actions affect their fellow classmates.”

Students “don’t give up their rights (to free speech and protest) when they enter school,” Jenks said.

Who was behind the pro-Palestinian walkout?

A group of students — @CHHS4Palestine — organized the walkout but is not a school-sponsored club, Jenks said. The first post on the group’s Instagram page was a request for members and volunteers just days before the event. The group also planned to hand out pamphlets on campus.

School and district administrators were alerted when plans for the walkout were posted on the group’s page, he said. They identified the group’s organizers and met with them to set ground rules for the walkout.

At least 100 students took part or were present for the event in Chapel Hill High School’s courtyard. It happened during a “flex block” period normally used for independent work, tutoring, and enrichment and group activities. A similar event was held at the same time outside Carrboro High School, Jenks said.

School officials and campus safety staff attended to ensure students followed the rules, he said.

Both walkouts were peaceful and called for “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the ongoing Genocide of the Palestinian people,” with several organizers speaking to the crowd, he said. The students returned to class about 30 minutes later.

“The schools don’t endorse or not endorse the event, but we are interested in setting up parameters that ensure a safe and orderly school day, and also some arrangements for many students who choose not to participate in this voluntary event,” Jenks said.

Some parents chose to keep their students home from school that day, he said.

Does CHCCS have issues with antisemitism or Islamophobia?

There have been ongoing concerns about antisemitism in the city school district in the past.

Three incidents of harassment and threats were reported last year at Culbreth Middle School, when antisemitic graffiti was found on a bathroom wall and two male students were later threatened by name in a message on the bathroom wall.

Those were just the latest examples of harassment, discrimination and microaggressions reported in the past 12 years, Jewish parents told the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board.

The district’s “Community Code of Character, Conduct and Support” prohibits harassment, verbal threats and discrimination based on a person’s race, disability, ethnic group, gender, national origin, religion and weight. It also prohibits swastikas and other symbols of hate, and defines antisemitism as “hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic or racial group.”

Superintendent Nyah Hamlet and the school board issued separate statements after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israelis. The board said on Oct. 19 that it shared a “wish for enduring peace and safety for families and communities in Israel and Gaza.”

“We vehemently reject any hint of antisemitic, anti-Muslim or racist rhetoric or behavior,” the statement said. Hamlet offered similar sentiments in an Oct. 12 message.

The Carrboro Town Council became the only government body in Orange County to approve a resolution calling for a ceasefire and the provision of more aid to Gaza in November. The Chapel Hill Town Council heard from speakers on both sides of the issue in January before declining to consider a resolution.