The students were constantly interviewing people as they attended different activities, Hammonds said, such as religious observances or town council meetings.
Weingast said that one night, the class had iftar dinner with a Palestinian family, and the next, had Shabbat dinner with a Modern Orthodox Jewish family.
“My perspective shifted with every single person we talked to,” Weingast said.
The speakers they met on the tour were eager to hear college students’ thoughts on the conflict, Weingast said, also saying that many of them thanked the students for being leaders in facilitating conversations back home.
Visiting the places he learned about in class humanized the War in Gaza for him, Hammonds said. He also said it helped depolarize his classmates with differing perspectives.
“I think to say only one country should have it all and the land only belongs to one people — you're saying that from afar,” Weingast said. “You're saying that from America and reading these academic papers, rather than talking with people who call that land their own.”
A two-person crew from The Nantucket Project filmed all activities of the trip, Hammonds said. He said he consented to being filmed and that all students who opt in retain the legal right to have any clip of them edited out.
Approval, logistics and safety
“The students had on-the-ground support from landing to take off with a majority of the travel located in central Israel,” Media Relations wrote in an email to The DTH. “The thorough itinerary maximized the educational benefit while mitigating risks.”
The Study Abroad Office was not involved in offering or planning the Israel and Palestine trip, but provided “risk management support” after the Provost’s Office approved the travel, the Study Abroad Office wrote in an email to The DTH.
“The program was developed, administered and overseen by SCiLL,” the Study Abroad Office stated.
Trust funds from the Provost’s Office funded the trip, according to Media Relations, with funds coming from sources including gifts and endowments, not state funds or tuition.
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The UNC Global Affairs website states that international travel outside of the Study Abroad Office's programs will only be approved for countries with a U.S. Department of State level 1 or 2 travel advisory.
The U.S. Department of State’s travel advisory for Israel and the West Bank is a 3, stating to reconsider travel due to “terrorism and civil unrest.” For Gaza, it has been a 4, advising to avoid travel due to “armed conflict.”
“It is common practice for the University to approve travel to areas with a level 3 or 4 travel advisory provided the Provost has reviewed and approved a risk mitigation and security plan after consultation with UNC Global Affairs,” Media Relations wrote.
Media Relations stated that previous examples of approved travel have included research-related trips. They wrote that risk support to regions with high travel advisories, including trainings and health insurance, is a service the Study Abroad Office has also provided in the past.
Hammonds said that the class traveled via bus and were accompanied by a hired security guard. He said he was scared to go to the West Bank but that this is expected when traveling to a war zone. He otherwise felt safe the entire time, he said.
Greer said he would not have encouraged the trip if he believed it was dangerous and said that the group was fortunate to go during a ceasefire.
The UNC Muslim Students Association was consulted for the creation of School of Civic Life and Leadership 190, with some dissatisfied with the final course. They were concerned about the course’s representation of Palestinian and Muslim perspectives, as well as the travel experience.
Before the spring break travel experience took place, MSA Development Chair Samee Ghaffar said that the group was shocked by the addition of a trip, describing it as insensitive and dangerous. He said when MSA was sent the School of Civic Life and Leadership 190 flyer, the group felt a sense of betrayal.
“Is that a safe environment, not only for you, but is that a trip that you can enjoy and love and learn from?” Ghaffar said. “Or is that something that is potentially traumatic and something that is potentially very problematic in so many ways that will have impacts on you far beyond the class, and it will impact your experience at UNC?”
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