Anti-Israeli protesters disrupt meet with MKs in US

In the latest instance of anti-Israel activity on US university campuses, activists from Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine disrupted a town hall meeting between Israeli members of Knesset and residents at a synagogue in Newton, Massachusetts, on Monday.

After standing and chanting slogans such as “Israel is an apartheid state and the Knesset is an apartheid parliament” and “We will not welcome Israeli officials to any Brandeis University event until apartheid ends,” the activists were forcibly ejected by police. One of the activists was arrested. The event then continued undisturbed.

The town hall meeting was designed to allow American citizens a chance to dialogue with Israeli leaders, and featured Knesset members from across the political spectrum: Ofir Akunis (Likud), Ilan Gilon (Meretz), Lia Shemtov (Yisrael Beitenu), Fania Kirshenbaum (Yisrael Beitenu), and — ironically given the allegations that Israel is an apartheid state — Arab MK Raleb Majadle (Labor).

The protesters singled out Akunis and Kirshenbaum for “sponsoring fascist legislation in the Knesset” that limits international funding to nongovernmental organizations, and Kirshenbaum for living in a West Bank settlement.

MK Akunis was reported by Ynet News as responding, “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East… If the Palestinians want peace with Israel, return to the negotiating table.”

The event was sponsored by the Ruderman Family Foundation in conjunction with Brandeis University, and the MKs involved are the 2012 Ruderman Fellows.

According to the foundation website, the goal of the program is to “strengthen the bonds of understanding and appreciation between Israeli leaders and the American Jewish community… engaging members of Knesset with top community leaders and activists during an intensive week of meetings and briefings in Boston and New York.”

Asher Zeiger and JTA contributed to this report.