TO THE EDITOR:
I would first like to extend my apologies to anyone in the audience who was disturbed by the David Horowitz walk-out that occurred. I intended to stay and was entirely unaware of the plans students around me had made. But after several minutes of listening to a man attempt to weave a tapestry of truth using tattered fragments of evidence, I was relieved to see students around me standing and saw my window of escape.
I am surprised limitations do not exist as to whom is allowed to speak at our well-respected university. When I, as a student, write a paper, it falls upon my duty and honor to ensure that I use credible sources of information. After Horowitz stated as fact that Palestinians are descended from red-headed seafarers, (in reference to the Sea Peoples whose settlement of Palestine is entirely hypothetical) I had lost all hope for the opportunity to hear a scholarly and factual debate about why there really isn’t peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
To reiterate: I apologize to the other members of the audience and respect the fact that you attended the speech because you sought to know “Why There is No Peace in the Middle East.”
I can, however, say with confidence that you likely didn’t receive any productive information from David Horowitz. There are many scholars and professors within UNC who could provide a more factual, conservative-oriented lecture on Israel-Palestine than Horowitz.
Roderick Flannery ’14
Geology, Environmental Studies
