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October 27, 2023 - 6:15pm
In an extended interview with UnHerd this week, Israeli Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely was confronted with a historic statement in which she claimed that “between the sea and the Jordan River, there needs to be one state, only the state of Israel.” Despite referencing the rhyme back in 2015, when making the case for a one-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, Hotovely maintained that “from the river to the sea” is a genocidal chant when used by pro-Palestine protesters.
Recent weeks have seen hundreds of thousands of people across Europe march for a “free Palestine”. Some countries have taken a hard line on protests, with France attempting a total ban on pro-Palestine rallies and Berlin suggesting a ban on keffiyeh scarves in schools. Hotovely spoke to UnHerd’s Freddie Sayers about the policing of speech and discussed whether pro-Palestinian protests on the streets of London are calling for the end of Israel — or perhaps something even more radical.
Hotovely, who has been in her current role since 2020, has been outspoken in her support for a one-state solution and has strongly opposed the freeze on settlement construction. After the Ambassador stated that “from the river to the sea” is a genocidal chant, Sayers pointed out:
Hotovely responded:
Met with the suggestion that protestors in the West are unlikely to be calling for genocide, and that it’s more probable that “free Palestine” means Arabs living in harmony with Jews in a country called Palestine, Hotovely denied that activists’ intentions tend to be benign:
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SubscribeI watched the full interview on YouTube. I’m disappointed in Freddie because he is usually so brave and well-prepared. But eclipsing that mild disappointment, I’m horrified by this ambassador. As a US Jew with Israeli ties who acknowledges the oppression of Palestinians but believes it is obvious that the US and UK “antiracists” are in an antisemitic cognitive torpor, I can’t understand how Israel could pick such a terrible advocate of its values and positions. There are so many winning moral arguments for Israel and of Jews generally that have been so better expressed by others. How can she be the best we have?! This ambassador is intolerable and unsuited for the social media age. If she is representative of the Netanyahu government as a whole, then the rumours are true and we are in trouble… well, we’re probably all in trouble regardless.
The “Pro Palestinian” rallies did not begin until after the horrific pogrom committed by Hamas. It’s possible the protesters are just useful idiots but surely not all (or most) of them are unaware of what they are supporting: another attempted genocide of the Jews.
The Hamas charter explicitly calls for the elimination of the Jewish people – not just the Jewish state. What Hamas did on 10/7 would be done to the entire Israeli population were they given a chance. The “Free Palestine” fools want to give them that chance, and that is terrifying. I feel as if I’m in 1930’s Germany watching the Nazis rise to power while too many people look the other way.
Hotovely’s appointment was opposed even by Melanie Phillips, and it is not hard to see why. But one state across the whole territory, with constitutionally guaranteed human and civil rights, and with universal suffrage, all entirely regardless or ethnicity or religion, would be the only solution that you would consider acceptable anywhere else on Earth. The Israeli Right is as One State Solutionist as anyone, to the point of a colossal building programme to make anything else impossible. It is a matter of what form the One State would take. Hotovely has told us her preferred form many, many times, and the Government that she represents continues to show us it. What I have set out is what almost everyone who will be on the streets of British cities again tomorrow means by it. Which would you automatically prefer on any other patch of the planet?
Please supply a link to the full interview. Ta
It’s on Unherd’s youtube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPoWszJUD1k
I say two states, one on top of the other. The Israelis and the Palestinians can flip a coin to see who gets to be the Eloi and who gets to be the Morlocks.
Thanks for asking the questions, even if the answers were all too predictable.
How about interviewing Ilan Pappe, Gideon Levy or Norman Finkelstein for balance? At least they will intelligently engage with your questions and debate the details.