Anti-Israel student guilty of King’s College assault
Politics graduate Ivana Bevilacqua was told to pay £100 to Jewish student Esther Endfield after knocking her phone from her hand whilst she filmed
One of the students who stormed King’s College London earlier this to protest against an Israeli speaker has been found guilty of assault by beating and ordered to pay compensation to the victim.
Politics graduate Ivana Bevilaqua, 25, was told to pay £100 to Esther Endfield, who was trying to film the protest against Ami Ayalon when Bevilaqua knocked the mobile device from her hand.
Ayalon, the former head of Israel’s internal security agency Shin Bet, had been due to speak on the peace process before a “mob” descended on the premises, throwing chairs and banging on walls, while shouting: “Free Free Palestine.”
At Westminster Magistrates Court this week, Bevilaqua was given a conditional discharge for 28 days and ordered to pay costs and compensation. She said: “I just wanted to speak to this war criminal.”
Ayalon was an elite soldier who rose to become the highly-decorated former commander-in-chief of the Israeli Navy, but since retiring from the military in 2000, he has sought a career in politics, and pursued several peace initiatives with Palestinian partners.
Responding to the court’s judgement this week, the Jewish Leadership Council said: “We welcome the guilty verdict against one of the violent anti-Israel protesters at KCL earlier this year.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
