"But about two hours into the day-long event, senior Zach Epstein, a member of the Jewish Student Union executive board and Duke Friends of Israel, destroyed part of the wall and flipped over a table of Palestinian food DSJP was giving out to passersby.
“The incident was an act of intimidation meant to silence our voices in calling for the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people,” said DSJP President Ahmad Jitan, a senior and columnist for The Chronicle.
Epstein declined to comment to The Chronicle, but he issued an apology to all those involved in hosting the event via the event page on Facebook.
“I would like to apologize deeply for what occurred,” he said in his apology, which was obtained by The Chronicle. “I acted overzealously, thinking at the time that I was making a sacrifice for the Jewish and Israeli students who feel targeted and harassed, the fickle Duke students whose minds are filled with polarizing material that bears false witness to the situation at hand and the security of the Israel state whose very existence—which I pray for often and intensely—is explicitly threatened by Iranian military leaders…. Again, I apologize for the harm that was done by my overzealous actions and hope that all sides can join together in a respectful, non-polarizing discussion of how to tangibly improve the situation in Israel and Palestine.”
Immediately after the incident, DSJP and some witnesses cleaned up the vandalism, said freshman Sarey Hamarneh, a member of DSJP. Members of the student group rebuilt the part of the wall that was destroyed so they could continue the event as planned." (thanks Yaman)
“The incident was an act of intimidation meant to silence our voices in calling for the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people,” said DSJP President Ahmad Jitan, a senior and columnist for The Chronicle.
Epstein declined to comment to The Chronicle, but he issued an apology to all those involved in hosting the event via the event page on Facebook.
“I would like to apologize deeply for what occurred,” he said in his apology, which was obtained by The Chronicle. “I acted overzealously, thinking at the time that I was making a sacrifice for the Jewish and Israeli students who feel targeted and harassed, the fickle Duke students whose minds are filled with polarizing material that bears false witness to the situation at hand and the security of the Israel state whose very existence—which I pray for often and intensely—is explicitly threatened by Iranian military leaders…. Again, I apologize for the harm that was done by my overzealous actions and hope that all sides can join together in a respectful, non-polarizing discussion of how to tangibly improve the situation in Israel and Palestine.”
Immediately after the incident, DSJP and some witnesses cleaned up the vandalism, said freshman Sarey Hamarneh, a member of DSJP. Members of the student group rebuilt the part of the wall that was destroyed so they could continue the event as planned." (thanks Yaman)
