RAMALLAH: On Wednesday, British politician and pro-Palestinian activist George Galloway walked out of a debate at the Christ College Church upon finding out that one of his opponents was an Israeli. Galloway immediately came under fire in the press and accused of racism. The debate was over whether Israel should withdraw from the West Bank immediately. According to The Guardian, Galloway stood up and interrupted Eylon Aslan-Levy, a third-year philosophy, politics, and economics student at Brasenose College, used the word “we" in respect to Israel. “You said ‘we'," Galloway said. “Are you an Israeli?" “I am, yes," Aslan-Levy responded. “I don't debate with Israelis. I have been misled, sorry," Galloway said. “I don't debate with Israelis and I don't recognize Israel." On Twitter, he later added, “Israel: simple, No recognition No normalization. Just Boycott divestment and sanctions." “I am appalled that an MP would storm out of a debate with me for no reason other than my heritage," Aslan-Levy later told Oxford student newspaper Cherwell. “To refuse to talk to someone just because of their nationality is pure racism, and totally unacceptable for a member of parliament.” A spokesman for the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Movement distanced itself from Galloway's action, stating that the movement rejects “all forms of racism, including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism." The BDS spokesman added, “BDS does not call for a boycott of individuals because she or he happens to be Israeli or because they express certain views. Of course, any individual is free to decide who they do and do not engage with." Galloway has been a longtime supporter of the Palestinian cause. He is often criticized for his close ties with militant factions such as Hamas and Hezbollah. He has been quoted saying that disputed Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh “is not just Palestine's prime minister, but he is our prime minister too." BN
