Questioned in the show “Les Visiteurs du Soir” on LN24 this Wednesday, Elie Barnavi expressed his astonishment: “What is extraordinary in these elite places, […], this is the abysmal ignorance of these young people. Since they don’t want to hear what people like me have to say to them, they wallow in this kind of ignorance”. The historian and essayist continues: “I am an Israeli patriot, I also follow the occupation, I have always been pro-Palestinian. I believe that Palestinians have the same rights as me and a state of their own. I fight for this, many of us in Israel do so. Attack me and the universities which are places of debate, […] it’s simply counterproductive”.
“They don’t want dialogue”
Present on the stage, Brussels MP Viviane Teitelbaum also spoke about this blockage: “Elie Barnavi is a balanced voice for peace. There are many of us who have this voice saying that there must be two states living in a country side by side.”, she said. Viviane Teitelbaum also expressed the lack of dialogue with these students: “We are faced with people who do not want peace or dialogue, who do not want to build bridges and who want to build walls. I regret this boycott and this rejection. I don’t think anyone, and certainly not a quality person like him (Elie Barnavi, Editor’s note) does not deserve this treatment”.
”At the same time that I am on the side of the principle of the occupation of these students, I find that this request for a boycott is stupidity”, explained Henri Goldman, member of the Union of Jewish Progressives of Belgium (UPJB), on the set of “Evening Visitors”.
