University Protesters Try To Disrupt Israeli Speaker, Call Him ‘War Criminal’
Students demonstrated outside of Dan Meridor’s talk. Image by Pinsker Centre/YouTube
(JTA) — Anti-Israel activists called former Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor a “war criminal” and called Israel a “terrorist state” during his appearance at a London university.
Meridor, who served in Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet from 2009 until 2013, spoke Tuesday night at King’s College in central London on the topic “Threats and Challenges.”
Students who arrived to attend the lecture said that they were threatened and intimidated by the protesters, the U.K. Jewish News reported.
Protesters’ screaming from outside the venue also reportedly interrupted the lecture, during which Meridor the failed peace process attempt by then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Kings College security men patrolled outside the lecture hall during the appearance, and only allowed those who registered for the event to enter. At the end of the event, organizers announced that the police had been called to allow attendees to leave the event safely. King’s College denies that police were called.
“It is appalling and concerning that at an academic institution of such high esteem as King’s College, which thrives on political diversity, student protesters would stoop so low as to threaten their fellow students and a former state official,” World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder said in a statement. “These students have shown a complete disregard for academic freedom and expression, and are sending a dangerous message that hostility and force are legitimate methods of protest.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
