The Israeli ambassador to the UK was hurried from the London School of Economics (LSE) on Tuesday night pursued by a pro-Palestinian mob angry at her scheduled appearance at a public forum.
The Times of Israel posted a video that showed Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely while she was rushed into a black car amid shouts and boos from the crowd that featured anti-Israel protesters angry her voice was due to be heard in a debate.
One protester asked her if she was ashamed while her security detail took her to a waiting car. At least one protester was blocked by a security guard while the ambassador left.
Videos from the scene showed protesters waving Palestinian flags while chanting “Israel is a terror state.”
The Times report outlined Hotovely had been invited by the prestigious university’s student union and the move drew widespread opposition from pro-Palestinian and other groups on campus for “platforming racism.”
The protesters prevented Hotovely from taking part in an event designed to “encourage discourse about the Middle East.”
One student protester told Iran state-affiliated media Press TV: “The students at this university are deeply ashamed. This university has failed the recognise and represent the student body. If Palestinians are not represented we will not stop debating.”
Queen Elizabeth II appears on a screen via videolink from Windsor Castle, where she is in residence, during a virtual audience to receive Tzipi Hotovely (centre), Ambassador from the State of Israel at Buckingham Palace on July 7, 2021 in London, England. (Jonathan Brady – Pool/Getty)
Another said: “Someone like this person doesn’t really deserve the right to speak. She’s made comments dehumanising an entire people.”
The activists specifically targeted Hotovely, saying the former deputy prime minister had “advocated for settler colonialism, engaged in Islamophobic rhetoric and has perpetuated anti-Palestinian racism,” the report said.
“This is deeply disturbing, I am so sorry Ambassador Hotovely,” tweeted Nadhim Zahawi, a Conservative MP.