Is it our turn yet?
The BBC has said it regrets livestreaming a Glastonbury performance by the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan on Saturday, with the prime minister and Ofcom among those to weigh in on the incident.
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In the run-up to Glastonbury, the BBC was under pressure over how it would treat the performance by the Irish-language rap group Kneecap, since one of the band had been charged with a terrorism offence.
But it was an act that appeared on the same West Holts stage before that has left the BBC expressing regret over its editorial decisions. Pascal Robinson-Foster – of the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan – led chants of “Death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]”. He also told a story about working for a “fucking Zionist” and delivered the controversial “from the river to the sea” slogan.
Dear oh dear – which twin is the most controversial/oppressed/genocided? Can we tell?
After the broadcast, the BBC initially stated “some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive”. It pointed to the warning it had issued to viewers of “very strong and discriminatory language”. The organisers of Glastonbury also issued a statement stating they were “appalled by the statements” made on stage that “very much crossed a line”.
With Keir Starmer and other political figures taking aim at the BBC over the decision not to pull the broadcast, the corporation published a new statement on Monday. It said it regretted not ending the live stream during the performance. It said its team had been dealing with a “live situation” and accused Bob Vylan of expressing “antisemitic sentiments”. The Guardian has contacted a representative for the band about that claim.
Is it a “sentiment” to call for death, death? Are the sentiments antisemitic or genocidal?
It comes with the BBC already facing claims of both anti-Israeli and anti-Palestinian bias. It is soon to publish an investigation into a Gaza documentary after it emerged its child narrator was the son of a Hamas official. Meanwhile, it has faced criticism for opting not to air a second documentary about medics in Gaza, citing partiality concerns, that will now be broadcast by Channel 4.
Ok so now can we talk about how much the BBC hates women?
Isn't it grand that the UK doesn't have an equivalent to the USA's First Amendment, where offensive language is protected?
Well, the IDF is an organisation whose sole role is to bring death to anyone declared by the state to be an enemy, so I don’t see the issue here, particularly in the light of recent IDF actions in Gaza. It also nominated a specific target; it was not a general call to kill Jews anywhere, anytime.
If both sides claim you’re biased, I guess you’re doing a pretty good job of being even handed.
Our ABC has just spent millions defending itself in an unfair dismissal case, a case that it lost, after sacking a radio announcer for supposedly anti semitic tweets, on her personal account, in her own time. The real irony is that what she tweeted was already on the ABC news website, and was still there long after her sacking.
Do we truly believe in freedom of speech, or do we only believe when the speech is in our favour?
Do I (for instance) believe in an absolute free speech that includes threats and incitement to genocide and the like? No, and I’ve never said I do.
Honestly, the anti-IDF statements don’t surprise, shock or dismay me–the IDF is, in point of fact, actively committing war crimes right now, so calling for retribution is pretty much gonna come with the territory.
OTOH, “From the river to the sea” is nothing short of a genocidal statement, albeit one with a pithy rhyme scheme with “Palestine will be free”.
The IDF is as genocidal as the US Military was when it participated in the carpet bombing of Dresden or the use of atomic weapons to flatten two Japanese cities.
I honor the memory of the WWII veterans a generation before me, without their actions we might not be able to celebrate Independence tomorrow.