Web Site Labels UNC, Others Anti-Semitic

The Web site, http://www.campus-watch.org, accuses certain colleges and universities across the country -- including UNC -- of being anti-Semitic.

Daniel Pipes, founder of the Web site, said its focus is to "improve the state of Middle East studies."

Pipes is a member of the Middle East Forum, a think tank that promotes Israeli interests in that area of study.

He said the forum created the site in September in response to concern over the degradation of Middle Eastern studies into pro-Palestinian platforms on campuses across the country.

He said the site was a reaction to Martin Kramer's book, "Ivory Towers on Sand; The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America."

Published last October, the book claims that "for the past 20 years, Middle East studies in America have been factories of error."

"Campus Watch seeks to reverse the damage already caused by the activist/scholars on American campuses," the Web site states. "We see this as an ongoing effort, one that should continue so long as the problem exists."

One section of the Web site marks universities it says have expressed anti-Semitism -- including UNC, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the University of California-Berkeley and Harvard University.

The site has links to newspaper stories and press releases that criticize activities that occurred on specific campuses.

Pipes said universities were selected based on their prominence and the newsworthiness of supposed anti-Semitic events held.

Topics covered under the UNC section of the site include articles that criticize the University for implementing a mandatory reading of Michael Sells' book "Approaching the Qu'ran: The Early Revelations," for all incoming freshmen.

Articles the media has written about the Web site state that a speech made on anti-Semitism by Lawrence Summers, president of Harvard, was a catalyst for the formation of the site.

Campus-watch.org appeared the day after the speech.

But Alan Stone, vice president for government, communication and public affairs at Harvard, said the timing of the speech and the appearance of the Web site is "absolutely a coincidence."

Stone said that although he has only seen the Campus Watch site a few times, he thinks it wrongly classifies apolitical events as anti-Semitic.

"(Speeches given at Harvard) were actually not political speeches at all," he said.

The University of Michigan is criticized on the Web site for hosting a pro-Palestinian conference. But Mary Sue Coleman, the university's president, stated in a press release that the conference was a student-organized event and did not represent the views of the university.

Pipes acknowledged that many people are reacting strongly to the listings on the Web site and said he expects more controversy in the future.

"The names that are there are just a beginning," he said. "There are many more to be included, but it takes time to do the research."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.