Netanyahu Cancels Speeches in Bay Area After Protest
BERKELEY — Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled both of his remaining speeches in the Bay Area on Wednesday, a day after hundreds of rowdy protesters forced him to cancel a lecture Tuesday night.
More than 2,000 people with tickets waited in vain to enter the Berkeley Community Theater on Tuesday as the noisy mob waved signs and howled slogans through bullhorns.
The Tuesday address was canceled about 8:15 p.m., with organizers saying Netanyahu’s safety could not be guaranteed.
Netanyahu was to have spoken tonight in San Mateo and Thursday in San Rafael.
Although Berkeley is known as the home of the Free Speech Movement, one person in the crowd said she didn’t care. “I don’t believe in free speech for war criminals,” Lori Berlin said.
Netanyahu became Israel’s youngest prime minister in 1996. Critics said he was an impediment to peace, and he lost his post last year to Ehud Barak.
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