Pro-Palestinian conference held at Duke University

Duke University, located in the US state of North Carolina, has hosed a controversial conference of a pro-Palestinian group. The unversity had come under fire for allowing the meeting to take place on campus as organizers of the event had repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel and refused to condemn Arab suicide bombings. With teams of armed campus police stationed around campus, hundreds of anti-Israel activists and a smaller number of Duke students filled campus buildings to hear Arab speakers accuse Israel of ethnic cleansing and attend workshops on how to counter Israeli propaganda in America. A few Jewish protesters were also present. They were led by New York rabbi Avi Weiss from the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. Duke's decision in August to allow the Palestine Solidarity Movement to use the school for its annual conference polarized the sprawling campus.