“Itbah al-Yahud!”
“Itbah al Yahud!” or “Khaybar ya Yahood!”?
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This was one of the chants that hecklers used during a lecture by Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.
Whether you approve or Israel’s policies and activities or not, protest in a civilized manner—don’t shout “Kill the Jews”, then complain that your “freedom of speech” is being curtailed.
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Police probe “Kill Jews” Oxford chant
BY JONNY PAUL
University student shouts “Itbah Al-Yahud” at Danny Ayalon during lecture.
LONDON - British police were on Wednesday investigating a verbal attack on Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, after an Oxford University student shouted “kill the Jews” during a talk he gave at the university on Monday night.
During the event, hosted by the university’s Student Union, a Muslim student, who had been heckling the deputy foreign minister, got up and shouted in Arabic “Itbah Al-Yahud” - “kill the Jews” - as he was leaving the lecture hall.
The incident was referred to the police on Tuesday and the university has promised to look into the incident once the police have completed its investigation.
“Our policy is always to await the outcome of police investigations where criminal offences are alleged, and to look at any internal disciplinary process after the police have finished their investigation,” an Oxford University spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post. “So we will await the outcome. We abhor racism but obviously now this is in police hands we cannot comment on the individual case.”
Ayalon had considered pressing charges before police began their investigation.
“This demonstrates our new policy on hatred and racism and we will have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism, something that should have happened a long time ago,” said the Deputy Foreign Minister.
Ayalon received a hostile reception at the university and was heckled throughout his talk by accusations of “war crimes” and racism. Another student carrying a Palestinian flag tried to approach the platform from which Ayalon was speaking and was led out by security staff.
At a demonstration outside the lecture hall, organized by the university’s Palestine Society, protesters chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Speaking to a partly hostile audience, Ayalon took a number of hostile questions and received applause at the end. Ayalon said that after the event, several students approached him thanking him for providing a narrative they said they had never heard before.
“Comments like these show proof that the narrative on campuses have been hijacked by those who have a hatred for not only Israel but also Jews,” said Ashley Perry, Ayalon’s media adviser. “The event also proved that if the Israeli narrative is explained in a calm matter, as the deputy minister did, we can increase understanding among those who have not ever been exposed to another narrative.”
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If you want to shout “Palestine will be free” or accuse someone of war crimes or racism because you dislike Israel or love the Palestinians, that’s one thing, but shouting “Kill the Jews” is not only racist, it’s incitement—and anti-Semitic, since the expression doesn’t differentiate between Israeli Jews and non-Israeli Jews. Muslims take offense at far less vicious statements about Islam and Muslims.
The protester who shouted “Itbah al-Yahud” crossed the line from protest to hate speech and incitement, and should be held to account for his actions.
