Thread by @docrussjackson

#THREAD

Apologies, but I'd never heard of self-described "religious right-winger" Tzipi Hotovely until yesterday.

I understand she delivered her speech without any problems, then was confronted by protestors OUTSIDE the LSE. 🤔

Anyway, who is she?

https://twitter.com/NickTorfaen/status/1458428527880118273

Tzipi Hotovely is an Israeli diplomat & former politician who serves as the current Ambassador of Israel to the UK.

After a short media career, in 2008, Hotovely announced that she was joining Likud, & became a member of the Knesset when Likud won 27 seats.

In 2013 Hotovely rejected Palestinian statehood aspirations, & supported a Greater Israel spanning over the entire land of current Israel, along with the Palestinian territories.

She reiterated her position on 22 May 2015, rejecting criticism from the international community.

The international community were critical of her position regarding the West Bank settlement policies, which she rejected, saying that Israel had tried too hard to appease the world, & must stand up for itself: "We need to return to the basic truth of our rights to this country."

She said "This land is ours. All of it is ours. We did not come here to apologise for that."

She's said she'll make every effort to achieve global recognition for the settlements, & has asserted Israel owes no apologies for its policies in the Holy Land towards Palestinians.

She justified her belief that Judea & Samaria belongs to Jewish people with reference to religious texts. “We expect as a matter of principle of the international community to recognise Israel’s right to build homes for Jews in their homeland, everywhere."
theguardian.com/world/2015/may…

In October 2015, making an extremely controversial comment, Hotovely said: "It's my dream to see the Israeli flag flying on the Temple Mount. I think it's the centre of Israeli sovereignty, the capital of Israel, the holiest place for the Jewish people".

timesofisrael.com/deputy-fm-i-dr…

In a 22 November 2017 interview, Hotovely said that most American Jews "don't understand the complexities of the region", [the Middle East], because they "never send their children to fight for their country. Most of the Jews don't have children serving as soldiers."

In 2019, she criticised the Board of Deputies of British Jews for supporting a two-state solution, saying they'd not consulted the Israeli Govt: "an organization that supports the establishment of a Palestinian state is working against Israeli interests".

thejc.com/news/uk/incomi…

Several senior members of the British Jewish community criticized her appointment as Ambassador of Israel to the UK, mainly because of her "ultra-right-wing" opinions - even including hard-right broadcaster & journalist Melanie Phillips.

thejc.com/comment/column…

Others also criticised her appointment, & Lord Beecham stated: "The appointment of an ultra-right-wing ambassador, while typical of the present government of Israel, will do nothing to win friends in the UK – or indeed any other reasonable country."

thejc.com/news/uk/senior…

Her appointment was announced as Natanyahu’s coalition Govt prepared to annex more of the West Bank, in breach of international law.

Even Boris Johnson said his Govt had “strongly objected” to the plan & restated its support for the two-state solution.

theguardian.com/world/2020/jun…

Last year, UN human rights experts warned the plan to extend Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements amounted to “21st-century apartheid”.

A petition within the British Jewish community calling for the UK government to reject her nomination as ambassador was submitted.

At her first event as ambassador with the Board of Deputies of British Jews, controversially, Hotovely described the #Nakba as an "Arab lie".

She was strongly criticised for these remarks by Janner-Klausner & by the UK Board of The Abraham Initiatives.

jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/top-reform-rab…

Anyway, I can now see why people protested OUTSIDE the LSE, & why many feel passionately that the LAST thing the world needs is another hard-right religious politician with reactionary hard-line & inflammatory views that even Melanie Phillips & Boris Johnson find a bit much.

Culture War Supremo, repeat Ministerial Code breaker & proven bully Priti Patel today released a strongly worded tweet condemning the protest OUTSIDE the LSE, provocatively & misleadingly framing it as an example of "antisemitism" "in our universities".

https://twitter.com/pritipatel/status/1458385024957521922

I suppose we should be grateful that despite Priti Patel & the corrupt antidemocratic Tory Govt's best efforts to prevent *certain* kinds of free-speech in Universities & introduce draconian legislation in order to criminalise protest, we still just about live in a free country.