UF Cancels Palestine Symposium Under Matthew Feinberg's Twitter Pressure, Approves Israel Internship Promotion
On October 31, University of Florida administrators canceled a Palestine symposium speaking event that was to be held on campus from November 1-2 at the Plaza level facing Newell Drive. Organizers moved the event to local Presbyterian Church Westminster.
A Substack writer and Instagram account user, Matthew Feinberg, put pressure on UF officials to cancel the event through his Twitter account.
On October 29, Feinberg made a post on Twitter stating, “A ONE SIDED symposium on Israel?* Urge University of Florida to foster open dialogue by insisting they include diverse voices or CANCEL THIS EVENT!!!* *THIS EVENT IS TAKING PLACE ON FRIDAY! WE HAVE JUST FEW DAYS TO TRY TO CANCEL THIS HATE-FEST…*”
WUFT reported that “UF officials emailed organizers saying the conference was not a university event, their use of a campus classroom was improper and that the event was being canceled.” WUFT didn’t cover Feinberg’s public pressure campaign.
Feinberg's post included a link to a downloadable email urging the event's cancelation and was sent to UF admin, Gainesville City Commissioners, and members of the Florida and United States government.
Feinberg celebrated UF’s cancellation of the event on Twitter, calling it “another win.”
On November 6 at 6 p.m., UF Hillel will be hosting an event on UF campus in collaboration with student organization UFToIsrael. UFToIsrael hosts internships in Israel through a program called “Onward Israel” and has an eight-week internship coming up.
UF Hillel will be promoting the upcoming internship by hosting a Q&A session with UF students who have previously attended the program. UFToIsrael announced that the applications open November 11.
Feinberg urged people to cancel the event because it didn’t “include diverse voices.” UF is allowing UF Hillel to host the internship promotion even though they’re only hearing from people who think positively about the program; they haven’t invited anyone with an opposing viewpoint.
Over the past weekend, attendees of the symposium heard from professors around the U.S., local activists and a journalist who reported in Gaza.
