Protesters silencing speakers like me won’t solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem

Icame to the UK two weeks ago, at the invitation of the British Jewish organisation Yachad, to present my ideas for how Israel and Palestinian people might create a step-change that may bring about the forging of a political agreement. There is nothing more urgent than finding a way to end occupation and create two states, both for the sake of the Palestinian people and Israel. Both peoples deserve to live in secure, democratic, independent states, and I wish to see the Israel that my parents built remain true to its Jewish and democratic values.

Having spent my career serving in Israel’s navy and security establishment, having been present at numerous peace negotiations, and served as an Israeli cabinet member, I believe I have some ideas as to how this might be achieved. I spoke to more than 1,000 people over the course of the week. But it was only at King’s College London, where I was speaking at an event jointly hosted by the KCL and LSE Israel societies along with Yachad, was I met with violence. A window was smashed, students were pushed and the event was cut short due to the disruption.

It is worth noting that in comparison to the audience inside the room, who came from a wide variety of backgrounds, and listened and engaged with what I had to say, those responsible for the chaos outside were small in number. Nonetheless, their behaviour has no place at a London university that is committed to free speech. In a democratic society, unless someone is guilty of hate speech or inciting violence, you have a right to express any opinion you want and people have a right to disagree with it, but not through violent means.

It is the slogan of the protesters that bothered me most: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. Perhaps they do not know to which river or sea their chant refers, or what the consequences would be were this to become a reality. But to clear up any misunderstanding, it means an end to a state of Israel, which also exists between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, and consigning both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples to perpetual civil warfare in what would likely be one failed state.

This is an extremist position and not shared by the majority of Palestinians or Israelis, nor the international community, which is committed to a two-state solution. However, it is the people who hold these extreme positions that came to define the narrative of my experience at KCL, and sadly, the same can be said of the region today. It is the small minority of extremists – and both sides of this conflict are afflicted with extremists – that, for the past 20 years, have come to define the reality and future of the Middle East.