Israeli Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely was evacuated under heavy security from an event at the London School of Economics on Tuesday evening amid a large protest by pro-Palestinian activists against her presence.
Video from the scene showed security guards rushing Hotovely into a vehicle, while others tried to fend off a group of jeering activists, who chanted, “Aren’t you ashamed?”
Hotovely had been invited by the prestigious university’s student union to take part in a debate forum.
The move drew widespread opposition from pro-Palestinian and other groups on campus for platforming racism. The protesters prevented Hotovely from taking part.
The activists protested against the appearance of Hotovely, saying that she had “advocated for settler colonialism, engaged in Islamophobic rhetoric and has perpetuated anti-Palestinian racism.”
There was no immediate comment on the incident from the Israeli embassy.
“This is deeply disturbing, I am so sorry Ambassador Hotovely,” tweeted Nadhim Zahawi, a Conservative MP.
Hotovely took up her post as an ambassador to the UK last year. She is a member of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and was appointed by him to the post after serving as settlements minister. The move drew a petition by left-wing British Jews who called on their government to reject her as ambassador.
Hotovely, who also served as deputy foreign minister between 2015 and 2020, is a staunch supporter of Israeli settlement movement and a vehement opponent of the so-called two-state solution.
Source: Israeli media
