A debate involving the Israeli ambassador to Ireland at Trinity College Dublin was cancelled on Monday night after pro-Palestinian protestors demonstrated outside the lecture theatre where the event was due to take place.
Ambassador Ze’ev Boker was due to deliver a 15-minute talk on Israel before taking questions from floor. The Irish university’s Society for International Affairs (Sofia) had promoted the event saying Mr Boker “is sure to bring us a unique insight into a well-known delicate situation”.
But the event was disrupted by a group of about 40 protesters from Students for Justice in Palestine who demonstrated and chanted slogans outside the arts block venue. They chanted: “We are all Palestinians, in our thousands, in our millions”
The Israel Embassy issued a statement condemning the actions of the protestors at Trinity College.
It said: “The Embassy of Israel is horrified by the vicious action of a group of protestors, which denied the Ambassador of Israel his right to freedom of expression at Trinity College last night.
“These protestors chanted genocidal refrains, which call for Israel's destruction, while barring access to the lecture theatre.
“They obviously have no interest in helping efforts to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but rather wish to ignite and enflame the situation. It is a pity to see such a small and extreme group denying academic thought, exploration and discussion from an Irish audience but unfortunately these are the bullying, intimidating tactics of the BDS movement.
“We are sure that an esteemed university such as Trinity will take the appropriate measures to deal with the instigators of last night's protest."
Barry Williams, chair of the Irish4Israel group, condemned the protest as “hysterical behaviour from certain segments of students”. Grace Conway, chair of the Society for International Affairs, said she was “deeply saddened” the event had to be cancelled. She told the Irish Times:
“We feel that it was a misunderstanding of what we were trying to do as a society, which was to provide a platform for discourse and we don’t discriminate against any ambassador, we invite all ambassadors and treat the with respect and decorum as diplomats. “We don’t discriminate against countries whether or not we support their political beliefs.”
“Sofia is a neutral party and we provide a platform of discussion and don’t support or condone and of the behaviour of the countries which that ambassadors represent.”
Ciaran O’Rourke, founder member of Students for Justice in Palestine, said they had conducted a peaceful protest outside the venue. He justified the protest on the basis on that Palestinian civic society groups have been calling for the boycott of Israel since 2004.
“We feel that until the human rights in civil society groups are respected, then we should show that solidarity to them (the Palestinians) as was the case with anti-apartheid movements, as was the case with movements around the civil rights era where boycotts were also used as a tactic.
“Freedom of expression applies as much to the Palestinian students and academics as it does to figures representing the state of Israel.”
