the times | Thursday November 11 2021 27
News
KATIELEE ARROWSMITH/SWNSMinisters have condemned protesters
who mobbed the Israeli ambassador as
she left the London School of Econom-
ics, calling the scenes “appalling”.
Tzipi Hotovely was rushed to her car
by security amid boos and calls of
“shame on you” after attending an
event hosted by the student debating
society on Tuesday night.
Video of the incident emerged on
social media along with threats from a
student group called LSE Class War.
“We’re storming in,” one post read.
Another offered “pints” as a reward to
anyone who smashed her car windows.
Priti Patel, the home secretary, said
she was “disgusted” by the scenes and
added that the police would have her
full support in investigating the “appall-
ing” incident.
The LSE said the ambassador had
spoken unimpeded at the event and
had taken questions from students
before “leaving on schedule”. “Free
speech and freedom of expression
Tzipi Hotovely said
that she would
not be intimidatedIsraeli envoy mobbed
after student debate
underpins everything we do at LSE,”
the college said.
“We are aware of some threats of vio-
lence made on social media around this
event. Any LSE students identified as
being involved in making such threats
will face disciplinary action.”
Hotovely thanked ministers for their
backing. “I’m thankful for all the
support I have received from the British
government, many friends and part-
ners,” she said.
Her appointment as ambassador last
year attracted controversy because of
her time as an outspoken deputy for-
eign minister in Binyamin Netanyahu’s
government. Many liberal British Jews
were dismayed by her rejection of the
two-state solution and her insistence
that the Palestinian territories were be-
queathed in perpetuity to the Jewish
people by God.
LSE Student Union’s Palestinian
Society condemned the decision to
invite Hotovely to speak, saying: “We
refuse to let our Palestinian peers be
gaslighted about their entire history.”
The society said Hotovely “has a track
record of anti-Palestinian racism,
Islamophobia and war crimes as well as
actively facilitating apartheid and set-
tler-colonial occupation”.
In a statement, the Israeli embassy
said: “The violence we witnessed when
the ambassador left the premises after
the talk will not deter Israeli diplomats
from engaging in meaningful dialogue
with all parts of the British society.”Catherine Philp
Diplomatic Correspondent
Pie-eyed Competition organisers take a close look at contenders for the World Scotch Pie Championship on judging day in
Dunfermline. The winners in 11 categories — from football food to vegetarian savouries — will be announced in JanuaryInventor, 21, harnesses pedestrian power
A student at Durham University won
the inaugural global student prize of
$100,000 last night.
Jeremiah Thoronka, 21, from Sierra
Leone, invented a device that uses
kinetic energy from traffic and pedes-
trians to generate power. Thoronka has
just started studying for an MSc in
sustainability. He won the Chegg.orgglobal student prize, a sister award to
the $1 million global teacher prize. That
was won by Keishia Thorpe, an English
teacher from Maryland who has set up
programmes that help immigrants.
The film stars Hugh Jackman and
Isabelle Huppert announced the win-
ners as part of a virtual ceremony
broadcast from Unesco’s headquarters
in Paris. Elliott Lancaster, 24, a post-
graduate at Keele University, was alsoshortlisted for the global student prize
which attracted 3,500 nominations
from 94 countries.
A deputy head teacher from Liver-
pool was a top ten finalist in the
teaching award. David Swanston, of St
Vincent’s School, is developing a way
for blind pupils to play rugby and
created a charity called Sightbox which
helps children with sight problems to be
more physically active.Nicola Woolcock