At the latest Doha Debate held at the prestigious Oxford
Union in the United Kingdom on May 1st, two-thirds of
the student audience ... all » approved a motion claiming
that Israel's supporters are stifling Western debate
about Israel's actions.
The event at the world famous debating society of Oxford
University marked the first time the Doha Debates have
been held outside Qatar.
The Debate took place amid mounting controversy over
the role of the pro-Israel lobby in the United States and
accusations that it has suppressed criticism of Israel -
a charge that the lobby vigorously denies.
Norman Finkelstein, an American academic and a leading
critic of Israeli policies, argued in favour of the motion
claiming that the pro-Israel lobby sows confusion to avoid
being held to account. The journalist and writer Andrew
Cockburn also supported this view, claiming there are
"red lines" in discussing Israel that no politician or
journalist in the US would dare cross for fear of being
demonised or driven out of public life.
Dr Martin Indyk, former US Ambassador to Israel and
Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy,
argued strongly against the motion, saying that the recent
'firestorms' around President Carter's book and the Walt
and Mearsheimer report are proof of a lively debate on
the subject . His fellow panellist David Aaronovitch, the
British journalist and broadcaster, dismissed accusations
of conspiracy around the lobby and said that there simply
isn't a lobby in the UK in the same way that there is in
the United States.
A group of students from universities and high schools
in Doha travelled to the UK to join students from
Oxford to question the speakers.
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