{"id":50500,"date":"2017-02-28T17:05:48","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T15:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=50500"},"modified":"2017-02-22T15:21:38","modified_gmt":"2017-02-22T13:21:38","slug":"28-05-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=50500","title":{"rendered":"Israeli Embassy in Ireland Last-Minute Cancellation of Ambassador\u2019s Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Israeli Embassy in Ireland Denounces Last-Minute Cancellation of Ambassador\u2019s Speech at Trinity College Due to Protests by School\u2019s Chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Lea Speyer<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Anti-IsraelAnti-Israel activists demonstrate against Israel’s Ambassador to Ireland at Trinity College Dublin. Photo: Video Screenshot.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Israeli Embassy in Ireland said it was \u201chorrified\u201d by the last-minute cancellation of a talk by Ambassador Ze\u2019ev Boker at Trinity College Dublin on Monday \u2014 all because of a \u201cvicious\u201d protest outside the lecture hall by the school\u2019s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In a statement, the Embassy said it was \u201chorrified\u201d that Boker was \u201cdenied\u2026his right to freedom of expression\u201d by anti-Israel protesters gathered outside the theater where the lecture was set to take place.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some 40 students and outside activists chanted slogans such as, \u201cFrom the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,\u201d and, \u201cIn our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese protesters chanted genocidal refrains, which call for Israel\u2019s destruction, while barring access to the lecture theater,\u201d the Embassy stated. Such demonstrators, it said, \u201cobviously have no interest in helping efforts to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,\u201d but rather seek to \u201cignite and inflame 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Trinity responded by expressing regret that Boker\u2019s speech \u2014 organized by the Society for International Affairs (SOFIA) \u2014 was cancelled. Provost Patrick Prendergast stated, \u201cThis was most unfortunate and represents the antithesis of what Trinity stands for. Universities should be able to facilitate the exchange of ideas. The protesters have violated that fundamental belief.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On Facebook, SOFIA said it was a shame that the \u201copportunity to facilitate discussion between students and the Israeli ambassador, in a respectful and moderated way, was lost\u2026We maintain that free speech is for everyone, not just for those you agree with.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Trinity SJP hailed the cancellation as a major success for BDS, posting praise on Facebook for those \u201cwho assembled to voice their support for human rights and the principles of nonviolent boycott in solidarity with Palestinian communities,\u201d and said that their action \u201cserved as a response to the ongoing, systematic violations of human rights and international law perpetrated by the Israeli state, of which Ambassador Boker is a direct representative.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Trinity event was among a string of similar BDS activities in Europe and the US targeting Israeli officials. As reported by The Algemeiner last week, anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University in New York called for the elimination of the Jewish state during a speech by Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon. On Wednesday, at the University of Vienna, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked was repeatedly heckled by BDS activists while delivering a speech.<\/span><\/p>\n

Watch the Trinity protest below:<\/span><\/p>\n

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