University of North Carolina to update policies following anti-Semitism complaint

The US Education Department is ordering the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill to expand its anti-bias training and expressly forbid anti-Semitism following complaints about a conference featuring a Palestinian rapper accused of anti-Jewish bias.

The university announced the changes yesterday after reaching a resolution with the department. Interim Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz says the school is committed to creating a campus “free from anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination.”

US Rep. George Holding, a North Carolina Republican, called for an investigation following the March conference. It was hosted by a Middle East studies program run by UNC and Duke University.

A separate federal investigation threatened to cut the program’s grant funding after finding it didn’t focus enough on language instruction and promoted “positive aspects” of Islam but not other religions.

— AP