By correspondent Sarah Mansur

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Tuesday to affirm a bus policy that supports the use of bus advertisements as a public forum, including religious and political ads.

This discussion was prompted by an ad by the Church of Reconciliation on Chapel Hill Transit buses calling for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. Alderman Dan Coleman, a member of the Transit Partners Committee, presented the resolution. Alderman Sammy Slade proposed an amendment to the resolution that would differentiate between commercial and non-commercial advertising, but the board voted against his amendment

The board agreed on the importance of a public forum, even if controversial issues are involved.

"The enemy is those who believe in justice, but don't stand up for what they believe in," said Mayor Mark Chilton, citing a speech from Martin Luther King, Jr. "There is a lot of value to being confronted with things we don't agree with."

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina is urging Chapel Hill leaders to let controversial ads stay on local buses.

ACLU Legal Director Christopher Brook wrote in a letter Friday that his group has received complaints from several residents who “don’t want to see their community suppress free speech and dialogue.”

Chapel Hill instead should “serve as a model for other North Carolina communities by embracing the free exchange of ideas, even when controversial,” he said.

The Church of Reconciliation, in Chapel Hill, paid for 98 ads that read: “Join with us. Build peace with justice and equality. End U.S. military aid to Israel.”

A Town Council vote to remove the ads or change the policy to prohibit political ads would be an unconstitutional gag on free speech, Brook said. It also would violate a longstanding Chapel Hill tradition of openness and dialogue, he said.

The town’s stated policy allows political, religious and “issues” advertising if the ad also identifies who paid for the ad and their contact information.

To see the ACLU's complete letter, follow the link below.

Documents:

A letter from a reader and Facebook Friend has us asking if the word "hate" has a place on our editorial pages.

Rene’ Paul de la Varre  of Chapel Hill sent us a letter that will be in Sunday's Chapel Hill News on the bus ad controversy. (See our original story here.) For those new to the story, the Church of Reconciliation placed paid ads calling for an end to military aid to Israel in Chapel Hill Transit buses. The town briefly pulled the ads because they did not contain the church's contact information, per town policy, but the ads were revised and are back up. The Town Council will likely discuss its bus ad policy tomorrow night or later this fall. 

"I am glad the Coalition for Peace and the Church of Reconciliation had the chance to post their erroneous political ad on the Chapel Hill bus," de la Varre writes, "for it only served to expose their naivety on foreign affairs, and their blatant hatred of Israel." (emphasis mine)

He goes on to defend military aid to Israel, writing that the spending there is a fraction of our overall foreign aid and noting Israel's importance to us strategically. 

The question we have is should the newspaper allow letter writers to say one party "hates" another?  The editorial pages are a place for fair comment and criticism, and we are lucky (and don't take for granted) that we have a vigorous opinion section. But newspapers also try to distinguish between public and private figures. That's why you can say almost whatever you want about Obama and Romney but not about your neighbor.

The church, in effect, is our neighbor. Or is it? Private figures sometimes rise to the level of public figures by placing themselves in the spotlight of public controversy, in this case buying ads on a taxpayer-funded transportation. 

Still, associate editor Dave Hart and I are uncomfortable letting people ascribe motives or emotions to those they disagree with. The church, which also has a letter coming in Sunday's edition, would almost certainly say it does not hate Israel, though it clearly disagrees and may even hate the Israeli government's actions in the West Bank. 

So what do you think? Where would you draw the line?  

Two words: Wet wipes.

Gov. Bev Perdue announced today that Albaad USA Inc., an Israeli company that makes wet wipes, will expand its plant in Rockingham County and add 95 jobs.  

The company will invest more than $9 million at its Reidsville facility. The company is receiving a $350,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund.

Albaad USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Albaad Corporate, which is headquartered in Israel and also operates facilities in Germany and Reidsville.  The company manufactures wet wipes for personal, home and auto care uses.

The company employs about 200 workers in Rockingham County, but it was recently awarded a contract to produce a new infant wet wipe product. The 95 new jobs will pay an average annual wage of $21,820, not including benefits.

“North Carolina was chosen for this project because of a wealth of talented and skilled labor, good shipping lanes to the East and Midwestern parts of the U.S., accessibility to ports to bring in raw materials and a well-established new aero transportation hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport,” company CEO Dan Mesika said in a release.

Albaad is the third Israeli company to recently announce expansion plans in North Carolina.

Shalag, an Israeli textile company, is investing $17 million in building a new manufacturing facility in Oxford that will create up to 100 new jobs. Shalag makes nonwowen textiles found in diapers, wet wipes and feminine hygiene products.

Palziv North America, an Israeli-owned foam manufacturer, announced in November that it would open a new facility in Louisburg, creating 72 jobs. Palziv makes foam for insulation, packing, toys, prosthetics and various other consumer applications.

Shalag received a $110,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. Palziv received a $250,000 grant. 

Concerns about increasing violence in Gaza are leading universities to cease study abroad programs in Israel, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Locally, Duke University appears to have made the same decision. And at least one Israeli program that UNC Chapel Hill is affiliated with, at Ben-Gurion University, has postponed a program for one week and has posted a security alert to its website.

A couple of more cartoon comments on the situation in Gaza. See what you think of Rex Babin's.

Here are 10 more opinions from readers on the situation in Gaza. There will also be a package of letters appearing in tomorrow's paper.

The situation in Gaza also has been the subject of McClatchy editorial cartooning over the past few weeks.

That was an odd little item, about a rather odd event, in the Sunday Triangle & State section. The headline pretty much told the story: “Sign-wearing man expelled from exhibit of Dead Sea Scrolls.” According to The N&O report, a self-described “provocative social activist” was expelled from the long-running exhibit at the N.C. Museum of Natural Science after refusing to remove a sign bearing the words “Remember Palestinian Oppression,” “Boycott Israel” and “Don't Buy Dead Sea Scroll Tickets.”