Israel’s ambassador to the UK Daniel Taub spoke at the Cambridge Union Society on Monday, a visit marked by protests and what was described as an unprecedented “media blackout.”
Taub’s talk at the university came less than two months after the end of ‘Operation Protective Edge’, the unprecedented Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip that killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, including 500 children.
Ahead of the ambassador’s event, Cambridge University’s Palestinian society condemned the invitation as “deeply insensitive” and “a tacit endorsement of war crimes committed in Gaza.”
During the day Monday, metal fence were erected around the whole building, with Taub separated from protesters by police, a private security firm hired by the Union, and Taub’s own security team.
The start of the talk was delayed, and all those attending had to leave their belongings in the cloakroom. Phones and laptops were banned from the event, at the request of the ambassador.
The measures were described by one Cambridge student journalist as a “total live media blackout“, adding: “never seen anything like this before in Cambridge.”
During the event, some 60 protesters held a peaceful demonstration outside the Union, the noise from which was “audible throughout Taub’s speech and the Q&A session which followed.”
Questioned during the event about the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, Taub described such deaths as Hamas’ “PR advantage”, and the “very painful side effects” of Israeli actions.