Israel Counsel for Media Relations and Public Affairs Consulate General Gilad Millo spoke about Israel and the recent conflict in Lebanon, saying that Hamas attacked Israel “completely unprovoked.” He advocated a peaceful solution to the conflict between Israel and the Middle East before a group of students, faculty and community members at The Pointe in The Walter Pyramid Wednesday.
Millo discussed the disengagement of Israel from the Gaza Strip, describing it as an “olive branch,” but was interrupted about five minutes into his speech by a group of protestors with banners displaying the flag of the United States with a Star of David where the 50 state stars normally are.
There were four signs, three of them reading “1,000 civilians killed, another 3,000 injured, one million people displaced,” “partners in crimes against humanity” and “one -third of the casualties in the Lebanon conflict have been children under 12 (BBC)”.
After a brief pause, Millo addressed the issue of civilian casualties incurred in Lebanon during the war this summer, comparing the military actions taken by Israel with other military powers, including Russia’s actions in Chechnya.
“The Israeli government suffered sending soldiers to their deaths on the ground instead of carpet-bombing Lebanon,” Millo said. “Israel attacked Lebanon so carefully it cost many Israeli soldiers. The Israeli people kept telling the government be more careful, be more careful in Lebanon.'”
Millo was periodically interrupted by members of the audience who shouted out words like “bullshit” and “rhetoric” in response to Millo’s statements about Israel’s actions and history.
Millo ended his speech saying, “Does Israel have a right to exist? We’re 58 years old. We’re not kids anymore. We have a culture, we have community. Our problem is not with Islam. Our problem is with extremism. Osama has kidnapped the voice of Islam. Moderate countries are not speaking. They are staying silent. Do we need a terrorist organization for the right to exist?”
After his speech, there was a question and answer session between the audience and Millo. After one audience member asked Millo about the creation of a Jewish state that is not Zionist, Millo stated, “anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are one in the same. Israel is the center of Jewish culture.”
“It seems that there has been targeting against Muslims and Christians lately, innocent people,” Naadiya Patel, president of the Muslim Student Association and a protestor said in response to Millo’s appearance at The Pointe. “This is a humanitarian issue. We just want to know [what] the justification of the conflict was. This definitely won’t cater to all perspectives.”