This Evening, Ambassador Taub gave a lecture at the invitation of the political and international relations society at Edinburgh University, to a crowd of 150 students. At the event, a handful of students stood up, waving Palestinian flags and repeatedly chanting in an attempt to shout down the Ambassador.
The vast majority of the students in the hall expressed their interest in hearing the Ambassador and gathered on one side of the room to hear the Ambassador speak and ask questions. To applause and laughter, the Ambassador said: “In my experience, people try to stop others from speaking when they have very little to say for themselves”.
At the end of the event, the audience gave Ambassador Taub a standing ovation. Outside the event, some 50 students gathered in a demonstration. Professor Mark Aspinwall, who chaired the event, apologised on behalf of Edinburgh University to Ambassador Taub.
Ambassador Taub said: “Universities have an important role to play in helping bring peace to our region, by exporting tolerance and understanding, not intolerance and bigotry”.