'We will not be leaving': UNC students camp out to protest Israel-Hamas war

The agreement reached between administrators and protesters Friday included only the decision to remove the tents, and did not result in a meeting with Roberts, Sylvie said.

Friday’s events were peaceful, with members of the encampment sharing meals, playing music and gathering for prayer. A group of about 15 to 20 counter-protesters arrived around 2:30 p.m. Several left quickly after speaking with UNC police chief Brian James, while others remained on the quad but at a distance from the encampment.

After the counter-protesters arrived, the members of the encampment began playing music and chanting phrases including “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

That chant has been a common rallying cry, but the Anti-Defamation League considers it an antisemitic phrase seeking the elimination of Israel and the removal of Jewish people from the area.

Mendy Heber, a rabbi, said he came to campus Friday to support Jewish students.

“I think the Jewish kids need support. I think they feel threatened and I think that (they) feel under siege,” Heber said.

Heber said he believes that the encampment at UNC and the similar ones at universities across the country are “a pretty organized effort to create havoc and make chaos all over,” which he believes protesters could use “as a leveraging point” to get government bodies and other agencies to meet their demands.

Sylvie said of the rally: “This is about freedom. This is about Palestine.”

“This is about humanity and people with consciences who believe that humanity deserves dignity.”

Students and others pitched tents on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill Friday, protesting Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and forming an encampment similar to others formed on college campuses nationwide.