A speech by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the Oxford Union was heavily disrupted on Sunday after a group of pro-Palestine activists blocked the entrance to the debate hall.
The demonstrations, organised by a coalition of local groups including Oxford Action for Palestine, saw protestors scale the walls of the venue and accuse Olmert of being a “war criminal”.
Videos circulated on social media showed security officers carrying some of those involved away from the building in an effort to prevent disorder.
Some of the activists held a banner reading “Palestinian children are human too”, while others held up hands dipped in red paint.
The latter gesture is common within the pro-Palestine movement to represent Israel having “blood on its hands”, though some trace its origin to a famous image from the Second Intifada showing the lynching of two IDF soldiers in Ramallah.
At least three people were removed from within the debate chamber itself, two of whom were Oxford Union members, per the Oxford Student.
One protestor told the outlet: “We’re here to stand against injustice. It’s shameful that Olmert has been invited by the Oxford Union. Palestine should be free.”
“He shouldn’t be speaking at an event like this. He should be in jail. Nobody is free until we’re all free.”
It comes after the union voted overwhelmingly to label Israel a “greater threat to regional stability” than Iran last week.
The debate, held on Thursday night, saw guest speakers including former Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and UN Watch Director Hillel Neuer on opposite sides of the despatch box.
Arguing against the motion, Neuer contended that the very idea that Israel could pose a greater threat than Iran was not only wrong "but the inversion of reality".
He said: "Regional stability is measured by who starts wars, not by who stops them. Israel does not arm terror proxies in five Arab countries - the Islamic regime in Iran does that.
"The entire Middle East knows this, and that is why Arab states quietly depend on Israel for their own survival."
An Oxford Union spokesperson said: “Disagreement is intrinsic to the Oxford Union’s commitment to upholding free speech.
"As such, we remain committed to hosting speakers whose views may be subject to disagreement, not to endorse those views but to challenge them in an open forum. Platforming a speaker does not equate to supporting their positions – it allows those positions to be questioned and held to account by instrumentalising our tradition to debate and disagree.”
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