On October 12 an email was sent by the politics department inviting students to a talk by “A high-profile visitor to the University from the Middle East”. The ambiguous email gave no information on who the speaker was, what topic was to be discussed or where the event was to be held. This email was followed by another on the early mornings of 18th October confirming the speaker to be Mark Regev, the Israeli Ambassador to the UK.
According to the Universities Head of events Officer the Israeli Embassy approached the University inquiring about permission to speak as part of a two-day tour Regev was doing across north-eastern UK.
Regev arrived with personal security guards in addition to those provided by the university and local authorities. Throughout the course of the event security guards were posted on all possible exits in order to ensure maximum security was maintained.
Security was a key factor before and during the event as attending members had to book tickets 5 days prior to the 18th. At the event attendees had to provide 2 forms of ID for cross reference purposes which included their student card and any other form of ID. Furthermore attendees were asked to leave their bags and cell-phones outside for security purposes.
The lack of backlash or boycotts of his arrival was mainly due to the efforts gone into maintaining ambiguity of Regev’s identity arrival. Concerns have been raised by multiple groups on the lack of transparency surrounding the event. The University of York Palestinian Solidarity Group has stated:
“The impact of having the Israeli Ambassador on campus is worrying to us, especially considering the absence of a Palestinian counter argument and the confines of an interviewer belonging to the university. We worry that this may have presented a somewhat unbalanced perspective on the situation, which in turn may influence student opinions about such a contentious issue.”
Regev discussed a wide range of topics which covered Israel’s political stance and the importance of the state as the only democratic nation within the region. The talk did not cover any controversial topics and Regev left the university premise swiftly afterwards.