Israel ambassador to the United Kingdom Tzipi Hotovely who had gone to the London School of Economics (LSE) had to run for her life when pro-Palestine students tried to de-platform her as she had come to this illustrious institution to take part in a debate.
Tzipi Hotovely bodyguards quite literally had to carry push the ambassador her car as her bodyguards faced the daunting task of keeping her safe from protesters who practically bayed for her blood.Protesters who were mainly Palestine students, British Jews, and other left-liberals yelled ‘aren’t you ashamed’ as she raced from LSE.
An Instagram handle called LSE Class War has taken credit for this attack on the Israel ambassador and had called on students to ‘smash her car window’ and ‘storm the building’.
Pro-Palestine groups claimed Hotovely was ‘platforming racism’ and tried to stop her from taking part and accused her of advocating for settler colonialism, engaged in Islamophobic rhetoric, and has perpetuated anti-Palestinian racism.’UK Government ministers Nadhim Zahawi and James Cleverly meanwhile condemned the ‘aggressive and threatening behaviour’ this morning.
Tzipi Hotovley is a right-wing politician who was appointed as Israeli Ambassador to the UK by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is viewed as controversial for supporting Israeli settlements on the West Bank as well as opposing Jewish-Muslim marriages.
LSESU Debate Society had shared a post on Instagram advertising the event titled: ‘Israel’s Perspective: A New Era In The Middle East’. It said: ‘The Middle East has been affected by the Israeli-Palestinian issue for more than 70 years. The Summer of 2021 saw another wave of violence break out which only further beckoned the question of whether peace was ever a tangible possibility.’
Recent developments have seen various Middle Eastern countries take an unprecedented step and recognise the State of Israel, has this opened a possibility of peace in the region?’. Encompassing all of this, LSESU Public Debates is honoured to host Her Excellency Tzipi Hotovely, the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on the 9th of November 2021.
Not only will questions revolve around the conflict but also of recent developments in Israeli Politics and the effect they will have on Foreign Relations.
The Embassy of Israel in the UK has condemned the incident and has issued a statement saying that the aggressive actions of protestors run counter to all principles of justice and tolerance in our democracies. “As we engage with British society, we will continue to overcome extremism and to condemn violence in all forms”, the statement said.
(The story was first published on The Commune. Republished with permission)