Extremism and Anti-Semitism at London School of Economics
When introducing Israeli Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) at a recent lecture, Professor Michael Cox said the school invites such guests to critically engage and debate the perspectives of the speaker. And as a university in a democratic society, he said, the LSE must uphold the principles of free speech, tolerance, and pluralism.
However, the school’s administration and student newspaper, the LSE Beaver, have collectively provided an environment that validates extreme, hateful views of Israel while failing to provide a competing perspective. This has provoked not a thoughtful debate on the Arab-Israeli conflict but instead a race to the bottom — of who can slur Israel the most.
The LSE hosts hundreds of speakers every year from all political leanings and dispositions, but recently its record is questionable with regard to censorship. Last winter it uninvited conservative author Douglas Murray from chairing a debate on the grounds of security concerns, while in 2006 the school hosted members of al-Muhajiroun (who were later banned under the British Terrorism Act of 2006). And according to the Telegraph, in 1995 the school’s Freshers’ Fair featured extremist groups promoting an Islamic state in Britain.
But in this debate the school has not stifled freedom of expression. After all, it did not submit to the demands of professors who wrote to the Beaver saying they were “shocked” and “appalled” by the mere invitation of the deputy foreign minister to campus. The letter, signed by over two dozen LSE academics, scorns the university for giving “extraordinary prominence” to Mr. Ayalon by alerting members of the university community to the event via email. Another professor went so far as to call for an investigation to uncover who invited Mr. Ayalon. Fortunately, the school’s commitment to free speech is greater than that of some of its distinguished professors.
But whatever prominence had been granted to Ayalon by hosting him surely was outweighed by the despicable actions of anti-Israel protesters during the minister’s (attempted) one-hour lecture and the tacit approval of these disruptions by the chair.
Introduced amidst a chorus of boos, Ayalon had scarcely delivered his eighth sentence when various students began shouting obscenities at him and delivering impromptu sermons on their view of Israel. Called a “racist,” “baby killer,” or “fascist” before he had even commenced his lecture, he was drained out by hostile, ad hominem attacks and struggled to utter consecutive sentences for the duration of the event. The event, entitled “The Situation in the Middle East: The View from the Middle East,” turned into a showcase for angry students to vent their displeasure with Israel through vulgar and repulsive remarks.
While Professor Cox attempted to limit the hostility of the crowd, he did not impart a neutral voice into the debate. He somewhat grudgingly welcomed Mr. Ayalon to the stage and admitted openly to disagreeing with him, thereby encouraging the protesters. Mr. Cox exuded a rather cold demeanor relative to his treatment of United States Director of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano a few days later. Ms. Napolitano was bestowed with a gift from Mr. Cox, who said he was “delighted” to present her.
In stark contrast, Mr. Cox asked students to “boo if you want to boo” at the conclusion of Mr. Ayalon’s speech.
The looney-left is preparing the way for the eventual Islamic take-over of Europe (they’d like to do the same in America). These very same looney-leftists will be the first victims (after Jews) of Muslims.
Twenty five years ago LSE was widely known as “London School of Communism”.
Sounds like it hasn’t changed. Scratch a leftist and often you’ll find an anti-semite. You deserve applause for writing this article because it won’t be popular at the LSE Beaver or with the learned faculty. Your final sentence is absolutely correct. That audience must talk only to itself – it will tolerate no other voice. They forget that other voices will speak in other places. Well done.
There is a reason I will not buy Kellogg’s Cornflakes in Israel. The product sold in our stores is made for export to Israel in England. I’ll be damned if I contribute one dime to the economy of the UK. Boycotts are a two way street, and so far as I’m concerned, no Jew should ever grace English institutions who condemn us or our state.
I don’t have as choice with Israeli money (minted in the UK). But where I have a choice, I exercise it.
Forty years ago the LSE was ‘The London School of Comics’; they have long since ceased to be funny.
What is it with the left and their hatred of free speech and expression. I’ve never been able to figure it out. So much anger, so much hatred.
I like westerncanadian’s point above — scrach a lefty and underneath is a anti-semite.
The barbarians are inside the gate.
In case you haven’t heard, see article: Denmark to pay immigrants £12,000 to go home if they ‘can’t or won’t’ assimilate: The Daily Mail – UK
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1226698/Denmark-pay-immigrants-12-000-home-wont-assimilate.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0Ww87sCrI
See, also, France to Pay Immigrants to Return Home – SpiegelOnline
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,484716,00.html
Now, all we have to do is get the UK and the US to do the same, and then get every Jew and Christian out of the “Caliphate,” leaving the Muslims to slaughter each other, as they are wont to do.
Juden Rois!!! Come Out Jews!!! Wake Up!! It’s happening again, have we learned enough to identify & recognize it, to call it by name, or do we “hope” for “change” by telling ourselves it will pass?
One can imagine the speech at their eventual graduation starting with the traditional “You are our future leaders” followed almost immediately by “God help us all!”
Nazi Germany has found a new home. England! Soon, the hatred and racism of the German slaughter machine will spread to all of Europe and Israel will be standing alone. I don’t expect America under Obama to come to Israel’s rescue if attacked by any Muslim country, especially the cowards who hide in civilian enclosures in Gaza and other enclaves of Mideast terrorists.
The “Night of Long Knives” will be repeated soon and the world will stand by with fingers up their noses, lamenting the struggle of Muslims and their need to defend themselves against such a major world power as Israel.
For the Jews who support Obama and do not support Israel, why continue to call yourselves Jews? Oh, I forgot. We have people who call themselves Christians yet support abortion. Guess I was not thinking clearly.
Sickening. Will the blind, ignorant hatred towards Jews ever end in this world?
Given that Europe is the source of such wonderful philosophies as communism, fascism and nazism, and that they’ve been carrying out anti-jewish pogroms for a couple of thousand years, seeing extremism and anti-semitism in Europe isn’t exactly the shock of the century.
Let’s face it…Europe is a cesspool. Europeans are the greatest ideologically motivated mass-murderers that ever walked planet earth. The only reasons they aren’t currently butchering people by the tens of millions in the name of some insane ideology like marxism or nazism, or currently marching Jews off to the ovens are:
1.) The United States keeps garrisons there (backed up ny nuclear weapons) to make sure the Euro-trash don’t start slaughtering folks again.
2.) They damn near ran out of Jews to persecute and murder during WWII.
The extremism and Jew-hatred spewing out of the pissoir known as LSE is normal, not exceptional.
Britain has become a boorish and rather ignorant land. Clean your country before it is tarnished beyond redemption.
At the risk of violating Godwin’s Law, it should be pointed out that academia provided Hitler with core support (see, for example, Modris Eksteins’ “Rites of Spring” or Paul Johnson’s “Modern Times”, or read up on Heidegger). Some things just don’t change, especially in the soft “sciences”, where reality and theory never intersect.
As for the LSE, AFAICS, Mick Jagger is the only thing of value they’ve produced in a long, long time (and he, at least, had the brains to drop out.)
I wonder what these anti-liberty, anti-capitalist, and anti-rational thought leftist dhimmis would say when the Islamofacist invaders wrongly declare England to be THEIR land and that the non-Arab white British are somehow invaders?
I wonder what these anti-liberty, anti-capitalist, and anti-rational thought leftist dhimmis would say when the Islamofacist invaders wrongly declare England to be THEIR land and that the non-Arab white British are somehow invaders?
Give it time. This will probably happen next.
The good news is Britain is swirling down the toilet deservedly, even as they’re shouting slurs.
There are very few actual British people left in Britain, and the Labour government is busy destroying the lives and livelihoods of the few who are still holding out. Within 15-20 years the former UK will be just an extension of the Mohammedan Umma.
12. Sure, when Jesus returns.
What happens if Israel gives up on Western Europe and the US, and makes a deal with Russia (re Iran and in general)? Spengler mentions this possibility in his Oct 20th column “When the cat’s away the mice kill each other.”
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KJ20Ak03.html
The opponents of Israel who showed their intolerance should be required to read and pass examinations in John Stuart Mill’s ON LIBERTY. They cannot argue because they lie. One of the oldest books of history, the Bible, which is well-known – shows how the land of Israel has been inhabited by Jews since the days of Abraham, almost 4000 years ago. Jews have lived there ever since, in various numbers. Israel gets its name from Jacob, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, who won the name Israel after wrestling all night with a man, who gave him the name “Israel” in the morning, meaning “wrestles with God.”
The reason for the Arab enmity towards Israel is solely religious, the intolerance of Jews by Mohammedans and, to some extent, the intolerance of Jews by Orthodox Christians. The Communist attacks – at the London School of Economics – stem from the Communist antisemitism of the old Soviet Union and the present Russia.
#3 Ruvy. Take a look at this link.
http://www.buycottisrael.ca/form.php
It’s a BUYcott.
Beaver = national symbol of Canada.
Beaver = rodent.
So their student rag refers to (a) a second rate country with a gigantic inferiority complex AND (b) native North American rodent best known for being made into damn warm fur hats.
If the shoe fits…
Uh. Hello Jews. The Liberal religion has as much respect for the Jewish religion as the Muslims do. Why are Jews so blinded to this fact? Ironically, the only religion I see really reaching out to the Jews is the Christian religion and they reject Christians every chance they get.
Personally I have no use for any religion (especially the Muslim and Liberal religions). But watching from the sidelines I continue to be amazed at how the Jews seem to continually vote for their own extinction. Some sort of Jewish gas chamber complex? Please enlighten me.
Those wacky kids at LSE have been watching too many YouTube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cohlZX-sAb0&feature=related
The Left is vile, absolutely vile.
As I recall, during the “Islamic Revolution” in Iran the left was rounded up and shot in reward for being useful idiots.
raleigh winston:
england is not swirling down the toilet, as you pointed out.
it is the toilet.
Doesn’t the admission that Mr. Ayalon would not speak to an audience in Israel as he did in London suggest that he was engaged in a propaganda mission rather than a real debate? BTW weren’t the Jews the ones who invented the concept of hate speech to silence neo-Nazis. I think this is called being hoisted by your own petard.
I still don’t understand why LSE fanatic agents blame Israel for being racist and aggressive, while at the same time the extremist pro Islamic students and U staff act as aggressive tyrants, show their afraid of free speech and of revealing the truth!
With all their Falsetinian ProPALganda Shiite indiscipline nature, the LSE shows again its racist and anti democratic and anti enlighten spirit and policy !
Remember Pan Am 103
Show compassion for the victims, NOT the bomber of Pan Am 103
http://www.boycottscotland.com
RAP; there is a huge gap between moderate Israeli policy which is accepted among many in the Israeli right and your allegation, accusation and falsification the Jews attitude toward Neo Nazi barbarians and Arab Palestinians. Let me remind you that the Nazis and their successors are those who demonize the Jews and spread lies and misinformation on Judaism, Zionism and Israel. This very tactics I can see in your weird reaction to Mr. Ayalon lecture.
‘Israel Beitenu’, Ayalon’s party, policy towards the Palestinians accepts the notion of further withdrawal from the “occupied” territories but on several conditions, which the main among them are the necessity to stop terror and to dismantle all the Palestinian terror groups, withdraw from the Arabs demand for “the right of return” and recognizing the right of the Israel to exist as a Jewish state aside with the Palestinian state as an Arab Palestinian state. Hamas and even Fatah reject those terms. They want to annihilate Israel.
A grimly ironic note. One of the signers of the professors letter attacking the invitation was Chun Lin, who co-edited a book specifically attacking the Chang and Halliday biography of Mao as, the publisher’s blurb says, “not a work of balanced scholarship, as it purports to be, but a highly selective and even polemical study that sets out to demonise Mao”. Hates Israel, but thinks Mao gets an unfairly bad press. Pretty much says it all.
The sherry-sippers with the bad teeth are disappearing up their own collective as–oles so rapidly that they think they see light. What a pathetic bunch of twits.
To Westerncanadian at comment #21 re: buycott.
Thanks!
Where have all the David Lloyd Georges of yesteryear gone?
Remember when the Brits thought they could leverage the Jews of Manchester?
They wanted to establish a Zionist colonial security blanket to maintain the Indian trade route. The Jews weren’t true English citizens as many hailed from Russia to escape the Czar, and would provide a good barrier between British interests and the Caucuses.
Now, almost 100 years later the Brits are having buyers remorse, they want the Zionists to fail, and for selfish reasons, just like before. This time it’s jealousy, envy that the Zionists for 65+ years have repelled the Mohammedan onslaught which brought the British Empire to it’s inglorious demise.
Noah: you see here is the probelm: as soon as any one crticiizes Isreal, they are automatically called anti-semite or anti jews. this is far from the truth…born and raised in Iran and a muslim, I hate the Iranian government. I also despise the Saudi government for being one of the most brutal dictatorships out there with of our government. as the Egytion government, Syrian, Pakistani, Yemmeni and lebnonese government they torture their own people. as a muslim i just don,t close my eyes and agree with them simply because I am a muslim. The crimes that the Talibans have comitted are unspeakable and I despise them too and simply don,t support them because I am a muslim.. you on the other hand support the dispacable and murderous Isreali government simply because you are Jew. and that is wrong and make you dispacable as well…. the Isreali government has committed more crimes than Nazi did and the deputy Israeli Foriegn minister got exactly what he deserved.. he was there to put up a good face but the students did not buy it.. no one here wants the destruction of the State of Isreal and anyone who criticize that government is not anti semite or anti Jew.. so get hip to it.. by the wat do you know the Israel Hitelr who is also known as the bucther of Lebanon? I wonder if you agree with his policy….
m
One Muslim dictatorship is no different than any other, MR proves the point. Muslims are brutal to both themselves and others, hence the proverb “I against my brother I and my brother against our cousin, my brother and our cousin against the neighbors all of us against the foreigner.”
If it weren’t for oil most Muslim nations would be still trudging along at a 7th century level of existence as does much of Afghanistan. Once Muslims had milked the Jewish and Christian converts and dhimmis of their knowledge all cultural and technological progress stopped. Islam really is basically a 7th century tribal socio-political ideology with a smattering of pilfered religious beliefs thrown in, it is the anti-thesis of human progress.
Europeans led us into the Abyss twice in the last century, and they still haven’t learned their lesson. Why on earth American “elites” wish to emulate them on anything other than food is beyond me.
i have a simple solution for all the Jews of the U.K. and other places in Europe who bewail the “takeover” of the Muslims. , and that is ,come and live in Israel where you can live in comparative comfort (not up to Euro standards maybe) but you wont starve. Here you can be sure that the Lefties are in the minority (and is a dirty word) You can even join the fanatics on the West Bank, get yourself an M16, and shoot Palestinians without fear of life behind bars,an added advantage there is housing for next to nothing as well.Not a bad deal.
If you dont fancy the Wild West , you can find enough intolerance and bigotry ,such as the treatment of the Ethiopian Jews ( yes I said JEWS)Black is not Really Kosher as you know. You will of course have to live with 1,000,000 ex Soviets who of course are only half, or even one third Kosher.
If you are worried about the Iranians, be assured that we have bigger and better H Bombs than they will ever have, so everything is cool brother.
So stop bitching about the L.S.E and make your way to the Land of Milk and Honey.