UNC Charlotte Palestine supporters ask trustees to divest from Israel project
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A group of protesters sat in on the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees meeting Thursday asking university officials to pass a resolution to be transparent about money flowing from UNC Charlotte to Israel.
The Mount Zion Archaeological Project has been in Jerusalem since 2008, and UNC Charlotte is the only non-Israeli university with a license to dig at the site.
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After five months of war between Palestine and Israel protestors in support of Palestine are questioning the project. The conflict in the Middle East erupted when Palestinian Sunni Islam group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people. Since then, Israel has hit back, taking the lives of more than 34,000 themselves.
There are protests on college campuses across the country, including at UNC Charlotte where student protestors supporting Palestine are digging deeper into the university’s presence in Israel.
“They fund the economy of Israel by doing research projects and buying permits, which in hand and hand works to displace Palestinians from areas of archeological research,” a junior student supporting Palestine said.
The Mount Zion Archaeological Project uses UNC Charlotte staff and resources. Protesters want the Board of Trustees to pass a resolution to be transparent about the money spent in Israel. The group sat in the board meeting Thursday afternoon with signs for their cause.
A small group of Israel supporters also showed up to the protest Thursday. At one point, one Palestinian protestor threw the Israel flag on the ground before other protestors stopped him. Freshman Matthew Kingsley, an Israel supporter, says some of the demands are misdirected.
“Their entire base is about UNCC divesting from the research project in the mountains of Israel,” Kingsley said. “So that has nothing to do with the Board of Trustees. If you actually look into it, that comes from the North Carolina government, the government is the one responsible for funding these projects.”
In a statement a UNC Charlotte spokesperson said, “As a public institution, UNC Charlotte is committed to upholding the right of individuals to engage in free speech on campus. We are grateful to all members of our campus community for respectfully exercising their first amendment rights.”
Protestors for Palestine say they plan to keep asking university leadership to disclose its dealings with Israel.
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“We’re not killing anyone. We’re not hurting anyone. We’re not promoting violence,” the junior student said. “We are merely sitting, celebrating the life of Palestinians, celebrating the culture of Palestinians and demanding our voices to be heard because these institutions are not listening to their students.”
A university spokesman said there’s minimal work left at the Israel said. He said crews will work to clean the site, conserve ancient walls and remove Iron Age floors. This work will not involve UNC Charlotte students or volunteers, and there will only be a limited presence of staff in the field.
Following that work, the project will focus on recording and researching the artifacts derived from the dig.”
The spokesman said “All funds from this project were raised from private donors; no state or University funds were used. The donated funds were used to cover the logistical costs of managing the project in the field, undertaking scientific research on the artifacts, and preparing publications.”
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