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Berkeley, the legendary bastion of free speech? Tell that to Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu was prevented from speaking Tuesday night in Berkeley by a few hundred rowdy protesters and a police force that couldn't control them.

The city was ill prepared to host a lecture at the Berkeley Community Theatre by the former (and possibly next) prime minister of Israel. The promoter of the lecture series may have been lax in taking proper security measures for such a highly charged event.

Regardless, there was plenty of blame to go around — enough to embarrass everyone involved, particularly the protesters who made a mockery out of the constitutional right of free speech.

Whether one respects Netanyahu or disdains him, he was still a world leader. He was not a war criminal, as some protesters outrageously proclaimed. And he has been out of office since May 1999, maintaining a relatively low profile during the recent resurgence of the intifada.

Certainly, when he was in office, Netanyahu ignited political passions pro and con, not unlike Vice President Al Gore or Gov. George W. Bush. Would the people of Berkeley also shut down a speech by either of them?

Coincidentally, the day Netanyahu was to speak in Berkeley, Israel Prime Minister Ehud Barak called for new elections, realizing that the Knesset would take that step if he didn't. When elections are held, probably in six months, Netanyahu is seen as his main challenger

It could have been quite enlightening to hear Netanyahu speak of his plans on the day Barak succumbed to pressure. Plenty of people want to know how Netanyahu would propose ending the violence in Israel, and his take is on the future of the peace process. If he indeed will run against Barak, it would be illuminating to hear his criticism of the current prime minister.

But that was not to be. The people on the streets of downtown Berkeley were too busy mimicking the crowds of Third World countries.

Their actions were reprehensible. Their success in preventing Netanyahu from speaking is a blot on the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement.