Kanye is banned - but war criminals are welcome

Keir Starmer has ordered an entry ban on rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West) to please Israel lobby groups. Ye’s record of antisemitic speech doesn’t prevent the ban being the latest step in Starmer’s Israel-driven war on UK free speech rights.

The ban forced the cancellation of the entire Wireless festival, outraging many who oppose Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its war on Lebanon and Iran.

But while Starmer is eager to performatively ban Kanye as an easy win in his rush to create a police state, he is more than happy to roll out the red carpet for actual and alleged war criminals – as long as they come from Israel and its supporters.

Kanye – double standards

For example, just since 2024 under Starmer:

Herzi Halevi

Israeli army chief of staff Halevi came to Britain in December 2024. As the overseer of Israel’s horrific mass slaughter in Gaza, his arrest and delivery to the Hague, or his trial in the UK for war crimes under ‘universal jurisdiction’ should have been automatic. Instead, Starmer gave him ‘special immunity’ to protect him.

Basyuk, Goren

Israel’s ‘genocide general‘ Maj Gen Oded Basyuk arrived in the UK in January 2025 for ‘secret’ talks with various UK government departments. He was granted “special mission immunity” – “immunity from criminal jurisdiction and personal inviolability”.

With Basyuk was Brigadier General Elad Goren. Goren had recently become the subject of a lawsuit filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his alleged involvement in the use of starvation as a weapon against the civilians of Gaza.

Gideon Sa’ar

The Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) on Gideon Sa’ar:

Gideon Sa’ar is a senior member of Israel’s security cabinet and alongside Benjamin Netanyahu — wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza—has played a central role in the decisions that have led to the mass killing of Palestinians and extreme suffering more generally. Today, Sa’ar continues to advocate for the halting of all humanitarian aid to Gaza where civilians are now enduring full-scale famine conditions.

But Sa’ar was not only allowed to enter the UK in April 2025, special measures were taken to protect him from arrest. As the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) sought action against Sa’ar for his part in Israel’s Gaza genocide, Starmer and his then-foreign secretary David Lammy gave Sa’ar immunity to ensure he could not be arrested.

Isaac Herzog

In September 2025, as Israel criminally bombed Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar and Yemen, Israeli president Isaac Herzog came to the UK for meetings with the UK government. The Green party and human rights groups demanded Herzog’s arrest. Instead, Starmer proudly welcomed him, posing for photos on the step of Number 10.

War criminals, names withheld

Also in September 2025, various unnamed members of Israel’s Directorate of Defense, its Research & Development (DDR&D) and its Israel Aerospace Industries entered the UK for an arms fair, where they rubbed shoulders with Israeli murder merchants Elbit Systems and others. All three organisations are at the heart of Israel’s genocide and war crimes. Thousands protested, but the government allowed them entry and did nothing.

Over 2,000 British-Israelis have served in the Israeli occupation military during the Gaza genocide. At least ten of them have been accused since May 2025 of serving in Israeli military units that have committed atrocities. While they still have dual citizenship including British nationality, the UK government has taken no action against them. When a former government wrongly stripped Shamima Begum of her British citizenship when she tried to return from ISIS territory, leaving her stateless despite her having committed no atrocities, no such action is apparently contemplated for Israeli war criminals who would still have Israeli citizenship. Nor have they been prosecuted in Britain despite UK police being aware for more than a year.

It seems that while a racist Black musician can be banned, Israeli war criminals will continue to get a warm welcome from the Zionist Starmer regime.

Featured image via the Canary