{"id":902,"date":"2016-11-07T09:13:11","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T13:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cameraoncampus.org\/blog\/?p=8222"},"modified":"2022-12-06T11:34:36","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T11:34:36","slug":"a-firsthand-account-of-anti-israel-violence-at-a-uk-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cameraoncampus.org\/he\/blog\/a-firsthand-account-of-anti-israel-violence-at-a-uk-university\/","title":{"rendered":"A Firsthand Account of Anti-Israel Violence at a UK University"},"content":{"rendered":"

Campus security officers barricaded the doors. The mob swarmed in on us. We were caged \u00a0in a room at University College London (UCL). Crowds of scowling faces were pressed against the window, pointing, jeering, roaring hateful words\u00a0\u2014\u00a0their cameras flashing all around us. It was like we were in a zoo. Ironically, this time, the animals were on the outside.<\/p>\n

\"screenshot-of-ucl\"
Screenshot of video showing protesters outside the event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We sat in a circle, facing each other \u2014 in shock, speechless \u2014 and awaiting what would happen next.<\/p>\n

We were trapped. Each window and door that surrounded us was blocked by a separate mob of violent protestors, chanting, banging and pushing.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n
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Since the 18th\u00a0century, theories of capitalism and pluralism have been recognized as two faces of the same coin. Whether we…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What is one supposed to do in such a situation?<\/p>\n

The rational thought in times of danger is to escape and\u00a0run away. This time, however, the danger was on the outside, and safety was the circle we were sitting in.<\/p>\n

Our time?\u00a0We had come to hear Israeli speaker Hen Mazzig, who had been brought to UCL by CAMERA on Campus with approval from the student union.<\/p>\n

\"img_20161030_134614-1\"
KCL Israel Society and UCL Israel Society and guests pose with Hen Mazzig at UCL before being escorted out of the event by police.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was clear that UCL\u2019s violent mob was determined to shut down the event, and deny us our rights to assemble and speak. But we didn\u2019t\u00a0back down. This was\u00a0more than just another University talk. It was\u00a0about civil rights \u2014\u00a0our civil rights.<\/p>\n

Security officials changed the location of the event \u2014 twice.<\/p>\n

The protesters couldn\u2019t\u00a0be controlled in\u00a0the previous rooms. And to make sure that the final room would not be flooded by the mob, we dispersed into groups around the university and then entered this new room separately, at different times, diverting attention away from us.<\/p>\n

But this still was not enough.<\/p>\n

Numerous students were harassed, shoved, slandered\u00a0\u2014\u00a0all for simply attempting to attend a talk by a speaker approved and arranged through UCL\u2019s student union.<\/p>\n

No student should be concerned about safety at his or her\u00a0university, let alone in a democracy. But at UCL, the walls of our \u201csafe space\u201d came crashing\u00a0down.<\/p>\n

As Mazzig prepared to speak, protesters rammed the window open and dived into our room, hitting\u00a0two girls. After 10\u00a0minutes, these hijackers were escorted out; it was now time for him\u00a0to speak.<\/p>\n

In our solidarity circle, we gave him our full attention as he talked\u00a0about his background and connection to Israel. And when he finished, we realized that our goal had been accomplished: we hadn\u2019t let intolerance and hate deprive us of our rights.<\/p>\n

Still shaken up by the events, we tightened our circle and began singing Hatikvah<\/em>, the Israeli national anthem. Our tears soon turned to smiles.<\/p>\n

Yes, we were outnumbered, and hatred swirled around us. But\u00a0there was an almost transcendent spirit of strength that seemed to penetrate us.<\/p>\n

After the event was over, a policeman warned us that exiting wouldn\u2019t be easy. The crowds were still thick and angry.<\/p>\n

Security cleared a path through the mob for us to leave. Abuse hailed down on us. Insults and curses were hurled. But, as we walked hand-in-hand through the hateful crowd, our fear had somehow\u00a0dissipated.\u00a0We walked straight out of the event, in a civil manner, without causing any commotion or disruption.\u00a0We were the antithesis of the violent mob.<\/p>\n

It turns out that the psalmist was correct: it\u2019s possible to walk through a dark valley and yet feel no fear.<\/p>\n

Contributed by Kings College London<\/a> CAMERA Fellow Joelle Reid.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article was originally published on The Algemeiner.<\/a><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Campus security officers barricaded the doors. The mob swarmed in on us. We were caged \u00a0in a room at University College London (UCL). Crowds of scowling faces were pressed against the window, pointing, jeering, roaring hateful words\u00a0\u2014\u00a0their cameras flashing all around us. It was like we were in a zoo. Ironically, this time, the animals Read more…<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cameraoncampus","category-cameraoncampusuk"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Firsthand Account of Anti-Israel Violence at a UK University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/cameraoncampus.org\/he\/blog\/a-firsthand-account-of-anti-israel-violence-at-a-uk-university\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"he_IL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Firsthand Account of Anti-Israel Violence at a UK University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Campus security officers barricaded the doors. 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