Article: In January 1961, a world-renowned British historian, Arnold Toynbee, was invited to Canada, to McGill University, to deliver a speech. (As an aside, Toynbee famously met with the Nazis and was a Nazi sympathizer). At McGill, Toynbee questioned the right of Israel to exist and equated Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the 1948 War of Independence with the Nazis. Interestingly, the date was only 1961, not present times, when we hear similar speeches. His lecture provoked outrage and in response, Israel's Ambassador to Canada, Yaakov Herzog, challenged him to a public, live debate, which Toynbee accepted. Israel's foreign ministry wasn't thrilled with this, so Herzog represented himself only, not the State of Israel. In a fascinating article recalling this debate, Herzog is remembered for his courage in taking on this anti-Semite, who was twenty years older than him and a towering intellectual, and for winning the debate. Today, the debate is largely forgotten but Herzog is remembered for defending Israel by showing Israel is an ordinary state with problems faced by every state, not trying to idealize Israel and make Israel seem perfect. What do you think of this idea?
To watch the debate in parts, click here. The article itself is well worth reading.
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