Protests Against Israel Ambassador’s Tour Around British Universities Continues

6 February 2022

On the 3rd of February, 2022, the Cambridge Palestine Solidarity Society released an open letter calling for the public to oppose and condemn the Cambridge Union’s invitation to host the Israeli Ambassador, Tzipi Hotovely. A protest against the event has been organized too for Tuesday the 8th of February at 4:15 pm at the Cambridge Union. As stated in the letter, “Events such as this serve the sole purpose of legitimating a system of apartheid through the prestigious hosting of its representatives within this country’s civil society institutions”. Additionally, the objection to the Israeli diplomat’s presence on campus stems from her past violent actions, statements, and beliefs in support of the settler-colonialism of Palestine.

This is not the first time that Hotovely was informed that she is not welcome in a public university by Palestinian students and their allies. Late last year, a visit to the London School of Economics was met with clear and thunderous objections from students due to her record of racism towards Palestinians. The Ambassador of Israel in the UK has previously pushed for the segregation of Palestinians and Israelis when she was part of the project for the expansion of settlements and the policies of ethnic cleansing in territories occupied by Israel. (https://www.smallhandsbigart.com/) Furthermore, she has made numerous aggressive remarks from denying the existence of the Nakba, the forced mass displacement of Palestinians in 1948, to proclaiming Palestinians as the “thieves of history”.

It does not go without notice that the discussion about Palestine’s colonization and its people’s oppression has shifted. While it was previously viewed as a “conflict” that everyone tiptoed around, last May’s bombardment of Gaza by Israel for almost two weeks has made it entirely understandable that enough was enough. Therefore, the world witnessed as Palestinians and pro-Palestine activists took to the streets of their respective countries to express their solidarity with the victims of the Israeli attacks and to demand governments and leaders take action towards ensuring a free Palestine. On top of that, major human rights organizations, such as B’Tselem and recently Amnesty International, have declared what advocates of the Palestinian cause have been saying for years: Israel is an apartheid state. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that significant public figures, such as Tzipi Hotovely, with an agenda to push the genocide and oppression of indigenous Palestinians, can make students of Cambridge, LSE, and others, feel unsafe.

Beyond the voices of the students at higher education institutions, many have taken to Twitter to also criticize Hotovely’s upcoming talk at Cambridge University. Chris Doyle, the director at Council for Arab-British Understanding, has written that such events “need to be debated properly, and those who believe Palestinian human rights should be respected have no fear of debating these issues.” All the while, another user under the account @worstbeatlesong states that “universities in this country inexplicably have not yet learned that you don’t invite racist segregationist war crime deniers to university campuses…”. These sentiments are by no means unique but have been increasingly shared since Hotovely’s appointment as the Israeli Ambassador in the UK. Back in the summer of 2020, over 1,500 British Jewish citizens have spoken out against Hotovely. Due to her aforementioned racially discriminatory statements and behaviour, she clearly has not had the support of the entire British Jewish community. Instead, she continues to be condemned by both the British Jewish community as well as the Palestinian community and its allies.

It is incumbent on @cambridgeunion to have someone, ideally a Palestinian, to give their position on an equal footing. These issues need to be debated properly, and those who believe Palestinian human rights should be respected have no fear of debating these issues. https://t.co/XfiRdtUZ16

— Chris Doyle (@Doylech) February 3, 2022

universities in this country inexplicably have not yet learned that you don’t invite racist segregationist war crime deniers to university campuses, so it’d be great if people could sign this https://t.co/vrdVdi37kz

— Max (@worstbeatlesong) February 3, 2022

Cambridge University is one of the world’s leading and oldest universities in the UK. While being a part of the Russell Group, the prestigious university has alumni that have gone on to become Nobel prize winners. It additionally has over 700 clubs and societies in which the Cambridge Union Society and Cambridge Palestine Solidarity Society are just two examples. Like the university, the Cambridge Union Society is an old and large society that holds debates in order to provide everyone the right to free speech and opinion. As for the Cambridge Palestine Solidarity Society, it is an organization established to raise awareness towards the suffering of Palestinians by gathering supporters through grassroots events.