This week is Israeli Apartheid Week at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Not everyone in attendance, however, agrees that "apartheid" accurately characterizes the situation in the West Bank, much less within Israel itself. The Jewish Chronicle Online reports that a few of the dissidents "went inside the university and had a number of conversations with the student participants." One of them is quoted as saying: "We had placards and some information packs, and we had some very interesting and civilised discussions."
Then things changed:
"About four or five people were standing around Gili, Ro'i Goldman, and the fourth member of our group. One man began to say some extremely unpleasant things about Jews. He said that the best thing the Jews had ever done was to go into the gas chambers. He [the fourth activist] asked if he could film him. The man said yes, adding that 'these things should be heard.'"
Another man then came forward and told the abusive man that he did not have to be filmed or interviewed. Despite the abusive man agreeing to be filmed, Mr Coren said, the second man, who was "big and burly and of Middle East appearance," allegedly launched himself at the activist, grabbing at his camera, punching him and then biting him on the cheek.
More, including a photo of the victim, below the fold.
Instead of defending the dissidents' right peacefully to express their views:
"A number of other people then began to say we shouldn't be there. The president of the union came out and said we had made our point. A policeman strongly advised us to leave."
This is how the victim looked after the attack:
By the way, according to the sponsors' Facebook page, the event was advertised as "free and open to all." Advertised speakers included:
Jody McIntyre, who objects to Israel's very existence, dating "the occupation" from Israel's establishment in 1948 and defeat of invasion by its neighbors.
9/11 troofer, Lowkey:
One day I was running from the truth,
To speed me up they gave me these shoes,
So tie my feet with Nike's,
Tell me lies about the 11th of September,
* * *
So dissolve my tongue with Coca Cola,
Seduce my brain with celebrity,
Burn my eyes with The Sun,
Muffle my mouth with McDonalds,
Tie my feet with Nike's,
Tell me lies about the 11th of September,
Hate publisher Sameh Habib, whose Palestine Telegraph has, among other things, featured David Duke; claimed that Israeli medical personnel rushed to Haiti after last year's earthquake were "engaged in organ trafficking."; written: "It turns out that WW1 and WW2 were planned in advance for the sake of a group following the dictates of Zionism"; and published a sympathetic interview with German holocaust denier Fredrick Toben.
This is what can happen when an atmosphere is encouraged or permitted that demonizes those with whom we disagree. Here in the U.S., we generally are accustomed to thinking of it as a right-wing phenomenon. But the phenomenon knows no political boundaries. Indeed, not so long ago at the University of California in Irvine, opponents of free speech successfully disrupteda public talk by Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States.
Accordingly, we need to be ever-vigilant.