Earlier this week, controversy surrounded a slated talk by a former Israeli Defense Forces soldier — the event has now been canceled.
Sam Fried, an American-born IDF soldier, was invited by Jewish Life to speak on Feb. 11., in an event titled, “An Evening of Conversation: The Story of One American IDF Soldier.”
Chris Donald, the Wake Forest University Chaplain, confirmed the talk has been canceled.
“The intention for this event was to facilitate meaningful dialogue on the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Donald said in a statement to the Old Gold & Black. “However, after careful consideration of recent discussions and the online interactions, it was determined that this event would not meet those objectives.”
Three Wake Forest professors wrote in protest of the speaker to the Old Gold & Black late last week. WFU Free Palestine, a pro-Palestinian activism group previously involved with an on-campus encampment last spring, also protested the speaker via social media.
Dean J. Franco, Winifred W. Palmer Professor in Literature, Barry Trachtenberg, Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History and Mir Yarfitz, Associate Professor of History also wrote an open letter to Wake Forward. The professors urged Wake Forest community members to write to the university administration in protest of the event.
In their letter, the three professors pointed to the date of the event, as Feb. 11 marks the first anniversary of the Israeli airstrikes on Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip.
“We are especially troubled by the timing: scheduling this talk on Feb. 11, a date that marks the anniversary of devastating Palestinian casualties in Rafah, demonstrates either a disturbing lack of awareness or a callous disregard for many members of our university community.” the professors said.
Previously, the university canceled a talk by a Palestinian scholar, Rabab Abdulhadi, that was scheduled for Oct. 7., the one-year anniversary of Hama’s surprise attack on Israeli towns in the Gaza Strip. Though the event was canceled, organizers, including Tratchenberg and WFU Free Palestine, held the talk without university funding at a church off-campus.
According to Donald, the Office of Student Engagement worked with the student organizations involved to find an alternative option for hosting Fried’s talk. The organizations decided not to move forward with further planning of the speaker event.
Regarding the cancellation of Abdulhadi’s talk, President Susan Wente and Provost Michele Gillespie announced that any event would be canceled if it “is inherently contentious and stands to stoke division in our campus community.”
At the time of publication, the Office of Jewish Life and Sam Fried did not respond for comment.
