VICTOR JOECKS: UNLV winks at antisemitism on campus
UNLV is a safe space for antisemites. And its leadership doesn’t seem to care.
A few weeks ago, I told you about a group of antisemitic protesters at UNLV shouting down professor Asaf Peer, an Israeli guest lecturer. Things were so bad that the campus police showed up. They should have arrested the disrupters. Instead, they consulted UNLV staff, who ended the event.
UNLV President Keith Whitfield took the ostrich approach. He buried his head in the sand, hoping the whole thing would blow over. When I first wrote on this, Francis McCabe, UNLV’s director of public affairs, said the university was working to determine if any student behavior had risen “to the level of misconduct.”
It obviously did. UNLV’s free speech policy states counterprotesters must remain at least 30 feet away from an event. “Individuals who interrupt events will be asked to cease the behavior and, if it persists, the individual may be asked to leave or may be escorted out of the venue,” it states. Yet, it was the Israeli professor who received a police escort — as a safety precaution.
Last week, McCabe said that UNLV’s Office of Student Conduct “has completed its review.” But he claimed that student privacy laws prevented the school from sharing “details regarding any possible misconduct proceedings or findings as a result of that review.”
I asked if Whitfield had issued any public statements about the incident. None was provided, and I haven’t been able to find any.
“At the direction of President Whitfield, UNLV has communicated with academic leaders and reinforced our policy on Speech and Advocacy,” McCabe said in an email.
The message — even if unspoken — is unmistakable. UNLV’s commitment to free speech is hollow. If you’re higher up on the victimhood hierarchy, you can violate the rights of those below you without consequence.
Consider the UNLV chapter of Nevadans for Palestinian Liberation, which is registered with the school. Its Instagram page has a video of students interrupting Peer’s lecture. Last month, it put out a statement in defense of the disrupters.
“Our stance is not a condemnation of academic freedom or free speech, but rather a reflection of our commitment to ensuring a safe and inclusive campus environment for all students,” the statement reads.
That contradictory word salad makes sense only if you’re steeped in critical race theory. This worldview divides people into groups. Generally, Jews are more successful than Arabs, so Jews are the oppressors in any conflict between the two. Their success, this theory holds, comes from systemic advantages, not individual merit. Ergo, the system must be overthrown, even if it means Hamas terrorists raping and murdering Israelis.
Or as the UNLV chapter of Nevadans for Palestinian Liberation says in its constitution, “Palestinians, like all oppressed and colonized peoples of the world, have a right to self-determination and self-defense against genocide and colonization.”
This is how leftists justify attacking Israel for defending herself against murderous terrorists. Closer to home, it’s how they claim shouting down a physics lecture creates “a safe and inclusive campus” for all.
Critical race theory is a poisonous, vile ideology. It’s running rampant at UNLV, which explains why its leadership is winking at antisemitic behavior.
Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.