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A bulldozer operates at a construction site in the Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim, near Jerusalem, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010.

(AP Photo | Sebastian Scheiner)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Syracuse University professor who rejected a film about Israeli settlers on the West Bank for a conference here has issued a public apology.

Controversy over screening the film "The Settlers" unraveled Thursday after The Atlantic published emails written by SU religion professor Gail Hamner.

Hamner was writing to a fellow conference organizer to tell him she didn't think SU should screen the documentary because it would elicit protests from pro-Palestinian groups. Atlantic writer Conor Friedersdorf argued this was an example of "how political correctness chills speech on campus."

Michele Wheatly, vice chancellor and provost at SU, emailed the campus community Friday morning to say that Hamner's decision was not consistent with university policies. She said the university would be reaching out to the filmmaker to arrange a screening on campus.

Hamner also issued a formal apology, saying her reluctance stemmed from a fear of controversy and inexperience planning conferences.

The film

The documentary at issue is "The Settlers," the most recent from award-winning Israeli filmmaker Shimon Dotan, who is also a professor at New York University.

Organizers considered showing the film at a conference at SU, "The Place of Religion in Film," scheduled for spring 2017.

According to The New York Times' review, the documentary chronicles young Israeli settlers who have moved to the West Bank in recent years.

The film "suggests that the fringe group of religious hippies is underestimated in its ability to influence Israeli politics and thwart any possibility of peace with the Palestinians," the Times reviewer says.

Friedersdorf, of The Altantic, estimates that protests against the film on a college campus would have been more likely to stem from the pro-Israel groups than pro-Palestinians.

The invitation

The idea for inviting Dotan to show his film at SU came from a professor at different university, according to the report by The Atlantic.

University of Nebraska professor William Blizek, who was helping to organize the conference, first thought of the film and reached out to Dotan.

A few weeks later, Hamner contacted the filmmaker to withdraw the invitation because of potential pressure from the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement on campus.

She wrote:

"I am now embarrassed to share that my SU colleagues, on hearing about my attempt to secure your presentation, have warned me that the BDS faction on campus will make matters very unpleasant for you and for me if you come. In particular my film colleague in English who granted me affiliated faculty in the film and screen studies program and who supported by proposal to the Humanities Council for this conference told me point blank that if I have not seen myself your film and cannot myself vouch for it to the Council, I will lose credibility with a number of film and Women/Gender studies colleagues."

The fallout

SU's provost, Wheatly, responded to the controversy this morning.

"I feel it necessary to reaffirm our commitment to intellectual and respectful debate on controversial issues," she said in an email to the campus community.

Wheatly pointed to a letter from her predecessor, from 2014. Interim Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina said at the time that SU does not support the boycott of Israeli academic institutions, but welcomed discussion, debate and dialogue on campus concerning issues of peace and security in the Middle East.

Wheatly said she was working with Chancellor Kent Syverud and the College of Arts and Sciences to invite Dotan to screen the film on campus. No plans for the screening have been confirmed at this time.

Hamner, for her part, issued a statement through the university, saying that she overstated concerns expressed by some colleagues about showing the film.

"I allowed my own fear of controversy to rule over good judgment and good teaching. This was a valuable learning moment for me -- both professionally and personally."

Reporter Julie McMahon covers Syracuse University and Syracuse city schools. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992