If you’re witnessing very enthusiastic standing ovations to Bibi’s speech on May 23, it’s not only because the crowd truly appreciated and admired his words—which they obviously did. They wanted to drown out these hecklers who, out of nowhere, started chanting anti-Israel phrases throughout the speech (even as it dealt with Israeli’s achievements in finding cures for diseases. Are they anti-cures-for-cancer?).
In the video below, I was able to catch the faces of two of these hecklers, who appeared to be large middle-aged men who convulsed like raving lunatics as the security men took them out.
The second man who appears five minutes into the video sat in the press section in the back, so I got him from up close. He carried a red banner with the unintelligible: “Denial of The Nakba is Indefensible.” The Nakba refers to “The Catastrophe,” the Arab’s interpretation of Israel’s Independence Day. No rational person denies “The Nakba.” The pro-Israel community perfectly recognizes the event was a Catastrophe for many Arabs—that’s why they’re at an event like AIPAC.
Speaking informally to the Jewish Journal after the event, AIPAC’s new and dynamic spokesperson, Ari Goldberg, explained how invariably anti-Israel protesters manage to buy tickets to attend AIPAC’s gala for the purpose of interrupting the Israeli leaders. Usually, conference organizes can tell by the names and cities of origins if the attendees come for authentic purposes. In the last few years, with the rise of the internet, anti-Israel protesters secure press credentials by inventing fictitious on-line media sources. That’s how the indefensible “Nakba” guy must have entered.
In the end, the only things these hecklers interrupt and humiliate are themselves and their cause.