Fogarty to political activist denied UK visa: ‘Nobody thinks you can’t criticise Israel’

US anti-genocide journalist Cenk Uygur was interviewed on LBC with Shelagh Fogarty this week. The Starmer regime had just cancelled the UK visas of Uygur and fellow commentator Hasan Piker.

Yet Fogarty was determined to ignore the obvious and was seemingly oblivious to how that would backfire. So she told Uygur blithely: “Nobody in this country thinks you can’t criticise Israel”.

Yes, she actually said that out loud.

Fogarty ignores Uygur’s ban for opposing barbarism

Uygur’s response was immediate: “Well I just got banned for it”.

The clip was promptly posted by Green party candidate, Mark Adderley, who knows a thing or two about being attacked and penalised for criticising Israel and its crimes.

 

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Fogarty’s agenda was clear, of course. She was trying to associate properly severe condemnation of Israel with incitement and hate speech against Jews generally, which it plainly is not.

Jews are not Israel, Israel is not all Jews. Suggesting otherwise is antisemitic, but it’s a tactic frequently employed by Israel advocates and apologists. Uygur wasn’t having it and rightly so.

That it comes from Fogarty and LBC is entirely predictable. She has sneered at anti-genocide protesters as juveniles who need to “grow up” and swore at a caller who pointed out Israel is committing genocide.

Nevertheless, being predictable doesn’t make it any more acceptable (or less stupid) to tell someone just banned from the UK for criticising Israel that “nobody” in the UK thinks criticism of Israel is penalised.

Featured image via Rich Polk/Getty Images for Politicon