Approximately 30 activists
-- mainly students from area universities -- disrupted a lecture given
in Chicago by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday which
was hosted by the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public
Policy. While Olmert's speech was disrupted inside the lecture hall,
approximately 150 activists protested outside the hall in the freezing
rain.
Protesters inside the hall read off the names of Palestinian children
killed during Israel's assault on Gaza last winter. They shouted that
it was unacceptable that the war crimes suspect be invited to speak at
a Chicago university when his army destroyed a university in Gaza in
January. They reminded the audience of the more than 1,400 Palestinians
killed during the Gaza attacks and the more than 1,200 killed during
Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 2006. Both invasions happened during
Olmert's premiership.
With interventions coming every few minutes throughout his appearance,
Olmert had difficulty giving his speech and often appeared frustrated.
At one point he appealed for "just five minutes" to speak without being
interrupted.
Click on the link to the EI video!