London’s Royal Society of Arts (RSA) says it has launched an internal investigation into a pro-Israel event it hosted for the deputy prime minister and Israeli ambassador that prompted a staff walkout yesterday.

On Thursday afternoon, the arts venue and membership organisation released an official statement claiming the event had been “held by an external client who did not disclose the full event details in advance” and saying it did not endorse the day’s programme. Furious RSA workers were joined outside the building by dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters as Oliver Dowden and Tzipi Hotovely were due to attend.

The event, advertised as ‘Restart Il. Economy London’, was hosted by the Israeli company BMP in collaboration with London’s Israeli embassy with the aim to “create investment opportunities in an environment of support and solidarity” after the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas militants. Israeli president Isaac Herzog also addressed the conference virtually with a live-streamed video speech.

RSA staff who walked out declined to speak to openDemocracy on the record. But one, Nikki, said in a statement distributed by the IWGB union: “As RSA workers we had no idea that our employer was hosting this event or that the Israeli ambassador would be in our workplace today.

“It’s an affront to many staff, especially those with family or friends in Gaza, which [the Israeli] government is turning into a graveyard. The presence of Hotovely, who has made such sickening comments in justification of the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, makes many of us feel unsafe in our place of work. We are ashamed that management has allowed this to happen. This, on top of our ongoing fight for fair pay, makes clear that they have no regard for staff wellbeing or the progressive values the RSA has historically held.”

An official statement from the RSA workers’ union has also been published, expressing disappointment in the decision to host an event that is “endorsing and profiting from the back of an ongoing genocide”.

The statement criticised an internal email circulated by senior RSA staff, apologising to employees who had been affected and claiming the organisation itself had been informed of the “geopolitically sensitive” nature of the lobby only a day beforehand.

A spokesperson from the RSA told openDemocracy: “We are an apolitical organisation and have launched an internal investigation. As far as we are aware there was no staff walkout today and this is not aligned with ongoing union negotiations.” openDemocracy understands that staff left in protest at the event with permission from a senior staff member, and therefore are technically not considered to have engaged in a formal walkout.

It comes as staff from the RSA Union have been striking since September 2023 over pay and working conditions.

Among the group of protesters who gathered in solidarity with RSA staff yesterday were members from Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion.

Yael Kahn, an activist originally from Israel, told openDemocracy outside the RSA: “I have been an anti-Zionist activist since 1972, and I have been protesting against the Israeli government for the past 51 years. I witnessed the first intifada in 1987, and the following intifadas.

“During the Second World War, my parents managed to escape the Holocaust, and I was born in Israel but I decided to leave because it is such a racist and oppressive society. What is happening in Gaza now is a Holocaust. There is no other word for it.”

Another protestor, Adz, from Just Stop Oil, said they had been at a climate protest for Palestine outside BP London before heading to the RSA.

“I think it is really important to spread the message that climate and war are linked,” they said. “Israel and all the people that are backing Israel, including the UK government, are not calling for a ceasefire because of the oil and natural resources they’re able to exploit in the Middle East.

“Climate activists want climate justice, but transitioning to renewable energy doesn’t mean that we still won’t have inequality. Climate activists stand with Palestinians because we are not free until we are all free.”

Crowds began to gather outside the RSA from about 10.30am on Thursday, and remained until 4pm, with heavy police presence and security throughout.

Scotland Yard said one man, aged 28, was given a fixed penalty notice for disorder after allegedly refusing to leave the premises where the event had taken place.

Dowden’s office, the Israeli embassy in London, and BMP, which hosted the lobby, have been approached for comment.