Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom Tzipi Hotovely was evacuated from the London School of Economics on Tuesday night after students and other pro-Palestinian activists tried to attack her following a debate.
Video posted online shows Hotovely leaving the event, with security guards leading her past the protest when a man rushed at her. The guards pushed her into her car.
שגרירת ישראל בבריטניה ציפי חוטובלי פונתה תחת אבטחה כבדה מבית הספר לכלכלה של לונדון. זאת לאחר שפעילים פרו-פלסטינים בקמפוס וסטודנטים נוספים מנעו ממנה להשתתף באירוע דיבייט במקום@BenYaniv1 pic.twitter.com/FpwaiJ530J— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) November 10, 2021
cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: ’36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b’ }).render(‘4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6’); });
if(window.location.pathname.indexOf(“/jpost-tech/”)!=-1){ document.getElementsByClassName(“divConnatix”)[0].style.display =”none”; var script = document.createElement(‘script’); script.src=”https://static.vidazoo.com/basev/vwpt.js”; script.setAttribute(‘data-widget-id’,’616dd69d1b04080004ac2cc0′); document.getElementsByClassName(‘divVidazoo’)[0].appendChild(script); }else if(window.location.pathname.indexOf(“/israel-news/”) != -1 || window.location.pathname.indexOf(“/omg/”) != -1 || window.location.pathname.indexOf(“/food-recipes/”) != -1 || window.location.pathname.indexOf(“/science/”) != -1){ document.getElementsByClassName(“divConnatix”)[0].style.display =”none”; var script = document.createElement(‘script’); script.src=”https://static.vidazoo.com/basev/vwpt.js”; script.setAttribute(‘data-widget-id’,’60fd6becf6393400049e6535′); document.getElementsByClassName(‘divVidazoo’)[0].appendChild(script); }else if(window.location.pathname.indexOf(“/health-and-wellness/”) != -1){ document.getElementsByClassName(“divConnatix”)[0].style.display =”none”; var script = document.createElement(‘script’); script.src=”https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js”; script.setAttribute(‘pubname’,’jpostcom’); script.setAttribute(‘widgetname’,’0011r00001lcD1i_12246′); document.getElementsByClassName(‘divAnyClip’)[0].appendChild(script);}
An Instagram account called “LSE Class War” posted ahead of the event: “Whoever smashes the Ambassador [sic] car window…gets pints. Let’s fuckin frighten her.”
View this post on Instagram
The LSE Student Union’s Palestine Society argued that Hotovely violated the university’s external speakers policy because she supports settlements and called the Palestinian-Israeli conflict a religious one, among other reasons. They also called her a racist.
Videos the society posted on Instagram showed activists shouting “shame on you” and “free, free Palestine,” calling Hotovely a war criminal.
Screenshot taken from the Instagram page of LSESU PALESTINE SOCIETY showing protests of Tzipi Hotovely’s visit. (credit: Screenshot/Instagram)Another video showed protesters chanting “No borders, no nations, no settler occupations.” It did not explain how one can support Palestinian statehood while opposing borders and nations.
UK Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi tweeted: “This is deeply disturbing, I am so sorry Ambassador Hotovely.”
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) November 9, 2021
A source at the event said that it went well and she was able to speak safely, while the protesters were outside. It was the first time Hotovely encountered such protesters – a somewhat common event for pro-Israel speakers in the UK, including ambassadors – because there had been few public events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Israeli Embassy in the UK did not comment on the incident.
Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, will be hosted by the LSE’s debating society next week, according to the Telegraph.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/uk-ambassador-evacuated-after-pro-palestinian-activists-crash-debate-kan-news-684537
