KCL Action Palestine hold protest whilst Israel society host IDF spokesperson

This evening an organised KCL Action Palestine protest took place at Stand campus due to an event organised by the Israel Society hosting a speaker from the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).

Students held the protest outside the Macadam building and the main entrance on the Strand.

The event called 'Israel's Humanitarian Mission to Syria' hosted Lt. Col (ret) Dror to give a talk on providing aid to Syrian civilian victims of civil war, in what is known as ‘Operation Good Neighbour’.

Action Palestine students and pro-Palestinian activists who chanted "IDF off campus" want KCL to boycott hosting IDF speakers at King's.

They said: "We are calling everyone to boycott these events."

They also chanted: "From Syria to Palestine, Zionism is a crime".

There were also a few Israeli protestors there – one wore the Israeli flag round his neck whilst waving the Israeli flag.

Police were called to the protest after a fight broke out between a protestor and an older man who was filming the protest on a go-pro.

The gentleman with the go-pro has since been identified as David Collier, a pro-Israel activist. A well known speaker and blogger on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The King's Tab spoke to one protestor, Jamie, a former UCL student.

He said: 'A group of students and activists have gathered today at King's and I have come with them to say universities are not a space where generals who have conducted apartheid policies and enforced occupation against international law and against what we are taught are universities to respect.

"We can't accept this at our campuses. The students here at King's have bravely stood against their university to say this person shouldn't be here and stands for everything that's wrong with the apartheid state of Israel.

"This person is part of a military that on a systematic basis disregards human rights for Palestinian's and has disregarded international law for longer than the lifetime of any King's student here today which is quite shocking so it's absolutely right that we oppose this and make our feelings known."

Another UCL student we spoke to signed up to attend the event yesterday, however when trying to get into the event was told he was removed of the guest list.

Some of the protestors later moved round to the main entrance of the Strand where there were police waiting.

The King's Tab spoke to a member of the Israel society, who has asked to remain anonymous, about the protest.

She said: "What scares me isn't chanting. It's not the banging on the door of the event. Its not that people have different opinions or emotions or freedom to demonstrate them, but the racism that happens at these protests – the refusal to actually have dialogue.

"People in countries where there is peace have different opinions and that's fine but a refusal to listen is not. Screaming hateful rhetoric so we can hear them four floors up? Trying to get through security without tickets to disrupt an event? Both these things happened tonight. How will that bring peace between us?

"If they don't want talk to us and you try to make me feel unsafe to show my identity as a Jew supporting my homeland that's not peaceful even if you don't use physical violence."

The King's Tab have reached out to KCL Israel Society and KCL Action Palestine Society. Both have said they will respond shortly.

Updates to follow – If you have any tips about this story, contact us on our Facebook page or our Instagram.

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