The vile hate speech and pro-terror ideology of the National Student Conference of the Palestine Solidarity Movement will be welcomed at Duke University: Duke Will Allow Pro-Palestinian Group To Meet On Campus. (Hat tip: Radian.)

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke University will allow a national conference of pro-Palestinian students to be held on campus, school officials said Thursday.

The fourth National Student Conference of the Palestine Solidarity Movement will take place Oct. 15-17 at Duke. Duke officials said they approved the event after school officials met with representatives from Hiwar, a Duke student group working with the movement to organize the conference.

John Burness, a senior vice president at Duke, said the school has been told that previous conferences “examined issues involving the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and called upon colleges and universities to divest the stock they hold in companies doing business with Israel.”

Such discussions are controversial, Burness said, adding that the school has received messages both in support of and against Duke hosting the conference.

“The university’s response is unambiguous: The Bill of Rights protects free speech, and universities in particular have an obligation to ensure that controversial opinions can be expressed freely and openly,” Burness said.

The event was first announced on the Web site of the Palestine Solidarity Movement before Duke had approved it, Burness said. More than 1,200 people signed a petition asking Duke President Richard Brodhead to ban the meeting.

Is it “free speech” if it advocates terrorism and genocide?