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A few weeks ago, Ehud Barak was given diplomatic immunity 'in emergency' in order to avoid arrest in the UK. Ehud Olmert in turn was heckled and booed by his audience in Chicago and a few hours later by another audience in San Fransisco, where criminal accusations were thrown at him in addition to calls for him to be tried for war crimes against the Palestinian and Lebanese people. Few days ago, Danny Ayalon attempted to give a lecture at the London School of Economics and Political Science about the Israeli point of view regarding the Middle East conflict. Evidently nobody in the LSE was interested in hearing Danny Ayalon or the rhetoric of any other Israeli official. Audiences in the US and UK not only protested Israel's war crimes against the Palestinian people, but they also protested the fact that Israeli officials were still being given a platform to even speak from. Ayalon like Olmert, didn't manage to 'lecture' as Israel was accustomed to in the past. Students and audiences around the world seem to have had enough with Israeli rhetoric, lies and propaganda. Wherever Israeli officials travel now to 'lecture' and/or spread their lies, they tend to be received with a different kind of 'welcome' then they used to receive in the past.

Protest against ayalon at london school economics:

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qes2Y7Sbuys

Citizen's arrest and mass disruption of former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert in San Francisco:

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=491GOKwrN1s

Students and activists protested and disrupted a lecture tonight at the London School of Economics (LSE) by Daniel Ayalon, the controversial Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel.

By James Caspell

Over 50 students and activists greeted Ayalon outside of the lecture on LSE’s campus with placards and banners, whilst inside audience members heckled the controversial Minister as a "racist" and "murderer" in relation to the illegal occupation and violence carried out by the Israeli state.

Ayalon was in the UK to meet British government officials and speaking at the LSE ahead of these talks in a lecture s titled "The Middle East: The View From Israel". Security at the university was tight, with private security and police officers keeping a close watch on protesters. The Minister began and ended his lecture amid boos and chants of “Free, Free, Palestine” whilst his speech was interrupted relentlessly throughout with audience members questioning Israel’s atrocities.

The action was organized by the LSE Students’ Union Palestine Society and the Palestine Solidarity Initiative. The London School of Economics Students' Union is officially twinned with Al-Najah University and has previously voted to divest funds from those companies profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The motion also called on LSE to respect human rights and follow suit in embracing a divestment agenda with regards to such companies. Students also held a week long occupation in January as a response to the Israeli attacks on Gaza last winter, resulting in LSE aggreeing to practically support Palestinian students affected by the violence.

Mira Hamed who attended the lecture and is the Chair of the LSE SU Palestine Society said after the protest, "The Palestine Society at LSE has grown in support since the atrocities committed in Gaza which explains the huge turnout tonight. We will continue to support the growing international resistance against the occupation of Palestine until a just peace is achieved."

Merna Al Azzeh, a Palestinian Masters student who was in the audience added, "As an LSE student, I find it disgusting that LSE could invite a Minister to speak from a racist government that has been committing war crimes for the last 60 years."

"The recent Goldstone Report overwhelmingly condemns the genocide waged against Gazan civilians last winter and as a Palestinian I am reassured by the growing international resistance to Israeli Apartheid".

For more information:

1. LSE SU Palestine Society: www.palsoc.org.uk
2. Palestine Solidarity Initiative: www.palestinesolidarity.org

Source: www.indymedia.org.uk