Part of pro-Palestinian student art exhibit at UNT removed amid antisemitism complaints by state lawmakers

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Students who created pro-Palestinian artwork now on display at the University of North Texas said they removed a piece of their exhibit two days early. State Republican lawmakers had complained about it and an upcoming lecture, calling them antisemitic.

The action comes as conservatives who have historically championed free speech are now showing interest in policing it in the wake of student protests of the Israel-Hamas war.

It also happened during a session of the Texas Legislature in which university officials across the state are under pressure to eliminate any offerings that could be seen as divisive or lose critical funding.

State Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, sent a letter to UNT officials on Sunday, requesting the exhibit entitled “Perceptions: Observations & Reflections of the Western Muslim” be removed within 48 hours. He pointed out that one piece in the exhibit featured Hebrew writing that reads, “The murder of people = genocide.”

The letter was signed by four other Republican state representatives: Richard Hayes of Hickory Creek; Ben Bumgarner of Flower Mound; Jared Patterson of Frisco; and Andy Hopper of Decatur.

“While we understand it is the mission of the University of North Texas to keep its students informed of geopolitical issues and create an environment where free speech can thrive, you surely appreciate that this framing is not only inflammatory, but factually false with regard to the allegation of ‘genocide,’” wrote Little, who publicized his letter on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday afternoon.

Little questioned the university’s compliance with a federal antidiscrimination law and Gov. Greg Abbott’s May 27 executive order requiring all higher education institutions in Texas to review their free speech policies to establish and enforce “appropriate” punishments for antisemitic rhetoric.

On Tuesday afternoon, Steve Moore, chief marketing and communications officer for the UNT System, said the students chose to take their artwork down early. Those students, Dania Bayan and Fatima Kubra, later clarified they took down one piece of their exhibit, but the rest of it remains until their show ends on Thursday as the space hosts exhibits from students throughout the semester who apply for the opportunity. They declined to provide any additional comment.

Students apply to show their work in the student union. The application asks about the topic they will explore, how it represents or challenges that topic and for scholarly research to support their representation. It is reviewed by a committee of faculty, staff and students at the College of Visual Arts and Design and other colleges within the university.

In his letter, Little also called for the cancellation of a lecture entitled “Palestinian Children and the Politics of Genocide.” Nancy Stockdale, the associate dean for academic affairs at the university’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, is scheduled to give that lecture on April 3 at the student union.

He pointed out that Stockdale, who is also an associate professor of history, has described Israel as “oppressive” and its response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel as “disproportionate” in a story about the pro-Palestinian demonstrations on UNT’s main campus in Denton last year.

In a statement to The Texas Tribune on Tuesday, Little said he isn’t concerned the lecture exists or that UNT employs Stockdale, but that higher education in Texas and elsewhere elevate her view that Israel is engaged in genocide “without ever meaningfully presenting a countervailing view.”

“Her ideas are treated with respect and prominence; opposing views are omitted in academia,” he said.

A top United Nations Court found last year that it is “plausible” that Israel has committed acts that violate the Genocide Convention, but hasn’t made a final determination as to whether it is guilty of genocide.

Moore, with UNT, did not have an update on the status of the lecture and declined to respond to the accusations Little makes in the letter that UNT is tolerant and even indulgent of antisemitic rhetoric.

Stockdale did not respond to a request for comment.

Many Texas college students, including those at UNT, walked out of their classes, set up encampments and protested for their institutions to divest from manufacturers supplying Israel with weapons in its strikes on Gaza last spring.

Republicans cheered when those students were arrested and also pushed for their expulsion.

There are at least two bills, one in the Senate and one in the House, that would require universities to use the state’s definition of antisemitism when considering disciplinary action against students. The state uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which free speech advocates say is problematic because it includes criticisms of Israel’s government. They believe that is political speech protected by the First Amendment.

The measures stand in stark contrast to a law passed in 2019, which allows anyone to express themselves in the common outdoors areas of a college campus so long as they do so in a way that is lawful and does not disrupt the institution’s function.

Little did not respond when asked how the lecture Stockdale plans to give would not be considered expressive speech protected under that law.

Alex Morey, vice president of campus advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, suggested the Legislature look to a 1999 Supreme Court decision if it is interested in protecting Jewish students from discriminatory harassment.

The court found then that discriminatory harassment can include speech, but it needs to be so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it denies a student an education, she said.

She encouraged UNT not to cow to this political pressure.

“All that’s going to do is send out a bat signal to others who might want to impose their own brand of censorship,” she said.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

Disclosure: University of North Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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