Shouting “killer and murderer”, hundreds of American students heckled Israeli ambassador Michael Oren during a speech at the University of California over the Gaza War, reported The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, February 9.
“Michael Oren! Propagating murder is not an expression of free speech!” a young student yelled at the Israeli diplomat, to heavy ovation from attendees.
Lecturing about Israeli-American relations, the envoy was repeatedly interrupted by the students.
“I accuse you of murder,” another student shouted as he tried to complete his speech.
The American students shouted slogans condemning Israel over last year’s deadly war in Gaza, which killed 1,400 people and injured thousands.
“How many Palestinians have you killed?” shouted the students.
“Israel is a murderer,” the American students shouted when the ambassador tried to complete his lecture.
Though the ambassador took a 20-minute break to calm the angry audience, the protest never abated.
“Michael Oren you will see, Palestine will be free,” shouted the students, when the ambassador returned to the stage.
War Criminals
The University’s main Muslim student body condemned inviting the Israeli ambassador to its campus.
“We strongly condemn the university for cosponsoring, and therefore, inadvertently supporting the ambassador of a state that is condemned by more UN Human Rights Council resolutions than all other countries in the world combined,” the Muslim Student Union (MSU) said in a statement on its website.
The student body accused organizers of trying to justify Israel’s mass killings of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
“A year after the war on Gaza, in which 1,400 people were massacred, 700 of whom were women and children, Israel attempts to hide the war crimes it has committed behind the deceitful facades of so-called “academics” and “diplomats”.”
MSU accused the Israeli ambassador of being an outspoken supporter of the Gaza war.
“(He) stands in the way of international law by refusing to cooperate with the United Nation’s Goldstone Report.”
“Oren took part in a culture that has no qualms with terrorizing the innocent, killing civilians, demolishing their homes, and illegally occupying their land.”
The Israeli onslaught in Gaza wrecked havoc on the infrastructure of the densely-populated coastal enclave, leaving some 20,000 homes and thousands other buildings in ruins.
A UN fact-finding committee headed by world-renowned judge Richard Goldstone, a Jew, had accused Israel of committing war crimes during the Gaza war.
(IslamOnline.net and Newspapers)
