George Galloway: 'I don't debate with Israelis'

[King Solomon]

George Galloway walks out of Oxford Israel Debate - YouTube

The controversial MP George Galloway has been accused of racism after walking out of a meeting at Oxford University when he discovered he was debating with an Israeli.

Mr Galloway, who is the Respect party MP for Bradford West, had been speaking in the debate organised by Christ Church college in favour of the motion: "Israel should withdraw immediately from the West Bank".

Around three minutes into the speech given by his opponent, Eylon Aslan-Levy, Galloway interrupted asking: "You said we. Are you an Israeli?"

The third year student Aslan-Levy answered "I am, yes."

Galloway then stood up and replied: "I don't debate with Israelis, I've been misled, sorry."

Mr Galloway then left the lecture theatre.

The outspoken MP is a well-known and vocal critic of Israel and its treatment of the Palestinian people.

Video footage of the incident, obtained by the Oxford student newspaper Cherwell, quotes Aslan-Levy as saying: "I am appalled that an MP would storm out of a debate with me for no reason other than my heritage. To refuse to talk to someone just because of their nationality is pure racism, and totally unacceptable for a member of parliament."

The incident caused a flurry of angry Twitter exchanges, some of which Galloway responded to. In one posting on the micro-blogging site Galloway wrote: "No recognition of Israel. No normalisation. Christ Church never informed us the debate would be with an Israeli. Simple."

A posting on Mr Galloway's Facebook page said: "I refused this evening at Oxford University to debate with an Israeli, a supporter of the apartheid state of Israel.

The reason is simple: no recognition, no normalisation. Just boycott, divestment and sanctions, until the apartheid state is defeated. I never debate with Israelis nor speak to their media. If they want to speak about Palestine – the address is the PLO."

The moderator of the debate, Michael Baldwin, a 3rd year reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics, said: "I was disappointed that a possibly fruitful discussion was prematurely ended by Mr Galloway’s refusal to debate someone just because of their nationality."

Utterly disgraceful, in my opinion.

 

[Mech]

What a racist. I guess he thinks of himself as a big man...after having lost to a third year student.

Loser.

 

[airmarshal]

Good stuff Galloway. If half of the western countries were as strong as this man, Israel would not have been such a nuisance as it is right now.

 

[Cherokee]

Obviously all this moneky claptrap is to please a certain section of people who are NOW a part of British Society . Vote Banks politics .

Is George Galloway the Dumbest Politician in the UK?

George Galloway is getting a lot of attention for stomping out during a debate with a student. Galloway claimed that he did it because he has a boycott on all “normal contacts with individuals or organisations in Israel”. The debate wasn’t taking place in Israel, but for all anyone knows George was too drunk to know that.

In response to criticism from boycotters who oppose Israel and expect Galloway to debate Israelis, George declared that he will define what a boycott is. “Secondly, an organisation calling itself “BDS” does not own the words or the concept of boycott, divestment or sanctions. They are entitled to their own interpretation of these words but they don’t own or control me. I will make my own interpretation.”

Let no one tell George Galloway how to boycott Israel. He will interpret his own boycott in an interpretive dance routine, especially when he’s losing a debate.

So now George has declared that he will boycott debates about Israel with people who support “the existence of the racist Apartheid creed of Zionism.” That’s a handy way of never finding himself in a debate again. Perhaps from now on George will limit himself to debating people who agree with him. That should significantly improve his chances of winning one of these things.

That line, like most of George Galloway’s addled Facebook posting, doesn’t make any actual sense. The respectable RESPECT man meant to say that he will not debate people who support the existence of Israel. It isn’t really possible to support the existence of a creed, but the entire statement is a confused mash of out of date cliches and talking points.

Firstly if people want to talk to the Palestinians they need to contact the Palestine Liberation Organisation. This is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and has been for many decades.

That’s a fashionable leftist position from 1986.

No one talks about the PLO being the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people” since the 90s when the Palestinian Authority was set up. It might have been proper to say that the Palestinian Authority is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, but even that is debatable considering that Hamas won the last elections and the PA is being run by Abbas who is avoiding elections like Galloway is avoiding common sense.

It doesn’t appear that George Galloway is really aware of anything that went on in the region in twenty years, despite claiming to be a vocal advocate for the Palestinian cause. Then he tops that absurdity by calling for the destruction of Israel, which he describes as a cancerous tumor, and its replacement by “a bi-national democratic state from the Jordan River to the sea”.

This is no longer the position of the Palestinian Authority, but George Galloway will choose to interpret what the Palestinian position should be in his own way based on something he read in 1986.

With one front open against the Jewish menace, George Galloway has another front open against the female menace, suing the National Union of Students for calling him a “Rape Denier” and assigning him a No Platform Status for describing Julian Assange’s sexual assaults as bad etiquette.

Edinburgh University Students’ Association president James McAsh said: “George Galloway should apologise immediately for his comments. It’s outrageous that a supposed left-wing politician is threatening to sue the NUS, and trying to take money from the student movement in the run up to a massive anti-austerity demonstration.”

In addition to suing for defamation, Mr Galloway stated on Twitter that “any damages I recover from the NUS will be donated to the Defence Fund for Julian Assange and Bradley Manning”.

He also later tweeted “A note to the NUS and NUS officers. Every defamatory tweet you sent today or caused to be sent will be included in the impending action.”

Thus continues the implosion of George Galloway who is now involved in fighting women and Jews at the same time. And then on top of everything else, Galloway’s Twitter account was hijacked by a weight loss spammer.



Galloway probably meant weight loss, but as it turns out the dumbest politician in the UK also can’t spell.

 

[King Solomon]

His Facebook status after this incident:

"I refused this evening at Oxford University to debate with an Israeli, a supporter of the Apartheid state of Israel. The reason is simple; No recognition, No normalisation.Just Boycott, divestment and sanctions, until the Apartheid state is defeated. I never debate with Israelis nor speak to their media. If they want to speak about Palestine - the address is the PLO."

He is clearly a racist with his "won't debate with Israelis". He advises people to "speak to the PLO", which is a terrorist organisation carrying out numerous attacks.

 

[Mech]

Good stuff Galloway. If half of the western countries were as strong as this man, Israel would not have been such a nuisance as it is right now.

Its not strength to throw a tantrum and to storm out after having lost to a third year student. The guy probably ran out of arguments. Look at @Cherokee 's post...the guy is an idiot. Every village has one.

 

[Rafi]

Respect to GG = you are a great man sir.

 

[Solomon2]

Good stuff Galloway. If half of the western countries were as strong as this man, Israel would not have been such a nuisance as it is right now.

What did Galloway do that was "Good stuff"? Haven't you figured out yet that in order to set Pakistan right - as a country that doesn't have bombs blowing up its own people - Pakistan's citizens have to be empowered to debate Israel's opponents and champion Israel, India, and any other entity that is used to demonize political opposition?

 

[jackyy]

what wrong in debate? an idiot in disguise

 

[Ozturk10]

George Galloway is an idiot. This so-called politican was on Big Brother a few years back.

He found an easy way to gain votes though.

Back Palestine + Visit a few mosques in the tower Hamlets / Newham / Plaistow Boroughs of London = Votes from Muslims.

 

[razgriz19]

if that's racist, then how would you explain western countries walking out from UN council when the President of a country is addressing!?
I'm talking about Iran.

 

[Mech]

if that's racist, then how would you explain western countries walking out from UN council when the President of a country is addressing!?
I'm talking about Iran.

That is an entirely different issue. Leader of a nation is more or less directly involved in the decision making process of a state. If you have any beef with a country , it is quite reasonable to take it up with its head rather than on its citizens. Here you have a drunk galloway walking out on the grounds that his adversary is a mere 3rd year Israeli STUDENT.

How in god's green earth did you think it possible to make such a wild comparison ?!?!

 

[RiazHaq]

Here's an Israeli top general's son challenging Israeli narrative which paints Arabs as aggressors and Jews as victims:

 

[Shivani Malhotra]

He has been ripped off by Tony Robinson many times.Hezbollah supporter..He is a prick.

 

[Cherokee]

Here's an Israeli top general's son challenging Israeli narrative which paints Arabs as aggressors and Jews as victims:




Here's Son of Chief of Hamas Challenging the Arab narrative on Palestine :