Israeli minister wears bulletproof vest in UK

The Israeli Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sharren Haskel, was wearing a bulletproof vest when she addressed people in Manchester in the UK on October 5th, according to the Middle East Eye.

She addressed the crowd of hundreds, who had gathered to remember the victims of a Manchester synagogue attack, saying, “[A]s a Jew, I am not safe in your streets.”

Her comments came amid concerns that the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue attack is being exploited by pro-Israel figures to shut down criticism of Israel.

The attack, which killed two people and wounded four others, took place on October 2nd. Haskel continued: “I’m threatened with death, for nothing more than my very existence.”

“I stand before you in a bulletproof vest, a Kevlar vest, here on this stage. I am not allowed to be here without it.”

In a post on X, Haskel said: “Yesterday I stood on stage in Manchester wearing a Kevlar vest – not as a symbol of fear, but as a symbol of strength and resolve. Because wherever Jews are threatened – we stand united.”

The deputy minister has previously faced criticism for secretly filming British politicians who were on a visit to Israel, publishing the footage on Instagram, and making critical comments alongside the video.

During a state visit to South Sudan, Haskel appeared to downplay concerns that Israel was deliberately starving the people of Gaza.

“While the international community is focused solely on Gaza, South Sudan is facing a real humanitarian crisis and the threat of genuine famine that is claiming the lives of many refugees from the war in Sudan,” Haskel said. “All hunger experts in the international community and in the media [should] come here and see with their own eyes what happens when there is a real famine.”

This was despite the the fact that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), estimated that at least 66,000 children in Gaza were experiencing extreme malnutrition due to Israel’s blockade on Gaza.

Famine is declared by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which is defined as an internationally-recognised framework for analysing food crises.

According to this framework, famine defines circumstances where “20% of households face extreme food shortages; at least 30% of children suffer acute malnutrition; and two adults or four children per 10,000 people die daily from hunger-related causes.” UN-backed experts have officially declared that famine is taking place in Gaza City.

Middle East Eye, Maghrebi.org