HILLARITY ENSUED: What Happened When Oxford Anti-Semites Were Exposed to Facts.

The point here is not just the behavior of anti-Israel maniacs at the union or the fact that Sacerdoti, representative of the pro-Israel side of the public debate more broadly, showed grace and respect while standing his ground. It’s that the parts that drove the crowd to the brink of insanity were merely Sacerdoti’s reciting of statistics—i.e., facts. The mob’s contact with reality produced a chemical reaction that ought to be studied for decades to come.

About eight minutes in, Sacerdoti notes, in objection to the idea that Israel is purposely starving Gazans: “Israel has provided 700,000 tons of food to Gaza during this war. That is a daily average of 3,200 calories per person.”

To which a woman in the audience yelled: “You sick motherf***er!”

I don’t know if I’ve seen an exchange that so perfectly encapsulates the public debate over this Israel-Hamas war.

In the official Oxford Union video, you don’t get to hear that response at all. That is when the sound is cut out for 110 seconds, the length of time it takes the presiding official to regain order and allow Sacerdoti to continue.

This eruption was not caused by Sacerdoti saying something provocative or even delivering his opinion. It was his recital of statistics that sent the crowd into convulsions of fury.

You can watch the unedited video on X, naturally.