Israel’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Tzipi Hotovely this week was subjected to what was undoubtedly a terrifying incident of harassment by a mob of university students.
In videos circulated on social media, it is clear that dozens, if not more, self-styled “activists” showed up at an event at the London School of Economics (LSE) with the intention of terrorizing the diplomat after she was invited by the Student Union Debate Society to expand on the “Israeli perspective” as part of a series of talks titled, “A New Era in the Middle East.”
While Hotovely was speaking to attendees, a rabble formed outside on the street and began hissing and screaming slogans including, “Palestine will be free. Occupation no more” and “Israel is a terror state.”
When she left the building, bodyguards whisked her into a waiting car as police officers held back aggressive demonstrators, many of whom waved Palestinian flags and attempted to charge towards the ambassador’s vehicle.
Amazing.
Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely was forced to flee London’s LSE university after students protested her presence and refused to give her a platform. This is how colonial war criminals must be treated everywhere. #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/SuInl4tna0
— Hadi Nasrallah (@HadiNasrallah) November 9, 2021
COPS OFF CAMPUS
STUDENTS PROTESTING AGAINST WAR CRIMINAL NAKBA DENIER TZIPI HOTOVELY ASSAULTED BY POLICE pic.twitter.com/NyOybREozJ
— LSE for Palestine (@LSEforPalestine) November 9, 2021
Anyone who thinks that shutting down open discussions will help Palestinian people are deluded. https://t.co/XPA4e4Qyie pic.twitter.com/WIiRoPiNdD
— Reem Ibrahim (@reem_ibrahim02) November 10, 2021
It was profoundly disturbing not least because the targeting of Hotovely – a Jewish woman – occurred on the anniversary of 1938 Kristallnacht pogroms, a night of mass violence against Jews in Nazi Germany that many historians consider the starting point of the Holocaust.
The next day, numerous high-profile British government ministers and parliamentarians from across the political spectrum lined up to denounce the intimidation of Hotovely, including Home Secretary Priti Patel, who tweeted:
Disgusted by the treatment of the Israeli Ambassador at LSE last night. Antisemitism has no place in our universities or our country. I will continue to do everything possible to keep the Jewish community safe from intimidation, harassment & abuse. I have been in touch with [Tzipi Hotovely] and the police have my full backing in investigating this appalling incident.”
In the 24 hours after the incident, limited coverage of the story made reference to several threats made towards Hotovely by a hard-left student group.
For example, an Instagram account called “lseclasswar,” which has now been deleted, published a number of posts, including the following particularly menacing call to arms:
One group calling itself “LSE for Palestine” used its Twitter account to appeal for people to “make noise to disrupt this event,” while labeling Hotovely “an avowed anti Palestinian racist and islamophobe.”
Follow-up tweets from the account proclaimed people “must keep this momentum going & make sure events like these never happen again,” while claiming the protest had actually been “peaceful” — despite video evidence showing it was anything but.
Numerous tweets from pro-Palestinian actors then declared what a success the demonstration had been.
Official LSE for Palestine Statement on the Protest 09/11/21
There has been a lot of misinformation and misreporting. We hope this clears it up. pic.twitter.com/pdPmVusubg
— LSE for Palestine (@LSEforPalestine) November 10, 2021
Great. There should be no place indeed for Nakba deniers and anti-Palestinian racists on campus. 👊🏼 https://t.co/yQcsCzffwk
— Mohammed El-Kurd (@m7mdkurd) November 10, 2021
Among them was Palestinian “activist” Mohammed El-Kurd, who retweeted LSE for Palestine’s statement and commented: “Great. There should be no place indeed for Nakba [Arabic for the ‘catastrophe’ of Israel’s creation] deniers and anti-Palestinian racists on campus.”
Others chimed in with remarks such as “Excellent statement. Hotovely did not flee. Her speech was not stopped. Police assaulted protestors,” and “Solidarity with [LSE for Palestine] — their protest was an expression of free speech and not a curtailment of it. Hotovely and anyone justifying coloni[z]ation and occupation *should* be uncomfortable.”
In essence, Tuesday night’s demonstrators and their supporters have been in a self-congratulatory mood, believing they achieved a big win for the Palestinian cause.
However, a statement released late on Wednesday from LSE’s debate society shows the protesters actually had the opposite effect and their actions have, instead, directly led to the “silencing” of Palestinian voices.
Why?
What most media outlets have failed to notice is that the follow-up event to Hotovely’s talk, which should have been the “Palestinian perspective” as put forth by Husam Zomlot, who heads the Palestinian diplomatic mission in London, was canceled.
LSE’s debate society wrote on its Facebook page:
We received a phone call from the Palestinian Mission at around 3pm where the ambassador asked us to reschedule since he ‘wishes to return to his alma matter [The LSE] (sic) when there is a healthier environment [for him to speak]’. We wish to emphasise that this was not a decision made by the LSE, LSE SU or the LSE SU Debate Society. We wish to apologise to our community who were excited to attend tomorrow. We look forward to rehosting the Ambassador as soon as possible, and emphasise the event is to our knowledge not permanently cancelled.” [Note: British spellings]
Meanwhile, the mob’s attempts to intimidate Tzipi Hotovely into silence failed. As video evidence will attest to, she was able to deliver a speech to a packed room and take questions and answers from students afterwards.
The only thing the demonstrators outside achieved was stifling free speech from the perspective they claim to support: the Palestinian one.
It was a spectacular own goal.
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