...How do I even get down onto paper my anxieties and fears? And what do I tell my family and friends back home about the realities Jewish students face on campus?
UCL Friends of Israel and Kings College Israel Society and Camera held a joint event for Israeli speaker Hen Mazzig to come share his work for COGAT, an intermediary unit in the IDF between the Palestinian Territories, Israel and other local and international NGOs.
Ten minutes before the event was to begin, I stood outside the main doors of the venue with a list of people’s names to check before they were allowed in. All of a sudden, a group of about 50 anti-Israel protesters appeared in front of us all. They held Palestinian flags, wore keffiyehs, and chanted aggressively in our faces.
All I could help think about was the hate in their eyes and the way they looked at me with such disgust. They did not know me at all and yet they were ready to act in such a way that made me scared for my well-being.
What happened next is hard for me to write about, but in doing so I hope to raise awareness for the true nature of these protesters that claim they are doing so in the name of “human rights”.
For the first time ever, I was assaulted. I was severely pushed against the main doors by the back of a protester. She held me there for up to two minutes. I screamed. I screamed for help. I screamed for her to move. I screamed that I could not breathe. Yet she stood there. She stood and revelled in the fact that she was able to cause me such distress. But for what? What was she aiming to achieve by doing so? Did my screams mean nothing to her?
Another girl came and spoke to her in Arabic, and finally she took the smallest step forward. But I was past the point of consolation. Liora Cadranel, co-president of the UCL Friends of Israel Society, saw me in the distance and helped get me out. I stood outside of the building, overcome with fear. I could not stop shaking and crying. I had a small panic attack. I tried getting it together, I really did, yet something in me told me not to. I could not hold it in, but maybe I shouldn’t. Maybe it is time that after all the hate Jewish students have absorbed these past years, that we stop holding it in. That we show our emotions and stand up for justice when it deems fit.
The protesters saw my reaction, they saw my red eyes, and loved it. It was a sign for them that they were winning. People surrounded me, walked past me, and I could not take it anymore. What was the point of all of this? Hen Mazzig is a peace activist. His army service was aimed at lessening the conflict on the everyday life of Palestinians. With his work for StandWithUs, he helped share his story of hope and coexistence. Yet he, and students that hosted the event, attracted the worst sort of hate possible.
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http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/hatikvah-in-the-face-of-hatred/
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