Cenk Uygur reacts to UK ban over israel criticism

The Home Office has banned left-wing commentator and TV host, Cenk Uygur, from entering the UK, on Israel’s behalf. He is a vocal critic of pro-Israel influence over Western governments. Cenk Uygur has highlighted the irony of the UK ban over X. He said:

if I had said that the Israeli government controls the British government so thoroughly that they’ll ban someone from coming to the UK just for criticizing Israel, they would have said that was an antisemitic statement.

The commentator noted that he was banned not for any views or opinions he’s expressed about the UK.

Uygur argued that “Israel controls the American government,” largely because the pro-Israel lobby in the US channels significant financial support to members of Congress. He presented this as the main issue for Starmer’s government. While this is an overly simplistic and debatable political argument, it is not inherently a religious one. Nevertheless, some pro-Israel voices in the UK claim otherwise.

The UK banning Cenk Uygur for criticising Israel’s genocide in Gaza and US support isn’t just an attack on free speech, either. It also carries an antisemitic implication. This implication falsely equates criticism of genocidal war criminals with hatred of a whole religious group.

The British government is saying they're banning me because I am "a serious risk to the public order" due to my criticism of Israel.

They say that my charge that Israel controls the American government through donations to 94% of Congress, while factual, is antisemitic…

— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) May 31, 2026

Cenk Uygur had previously called for the US to assert independence from pro-Israel interests during an appearance on Piers Morgan‘s talk show. After the UK decided to ban Cenk Uygur, Morgan has defended his guest, emphasising that he was making political rather than religious points:

She is a disgusting bigot who spews constant vile hatred against Muslims for being Muslim. Where has Cenk Uygur ever said anything hateful and bigoted against Jews for being Jewish? https://t.co/4TBnhNL9La

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 1, 2026

Green Party leader Zack Polanski, has also called out the government’s cynical move. The Jewish politician lamented how the Labour government was:

doing everything possible to silence criticism of the Israeli government.

He called the ban of both Cenk Uygur and fellow Israel critic Hasan Piker “a really grim decision”:

This is a really grim decision alongside Cenk.

People often talk about dangerous road we'd go down under a Reform government – this is another clear warning we're down there already.

A Labour government doing everything possible to silence criticism of the Israeli Government. https://t.co/XS8GKEFJMe

— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) June 1, 2026

It’s one thing for a government to challenge people spreading hatred of entire religious or ethnic communities. It’s another entirely when a government decides to limit political debate on behalf of a country currently committing genocide. And that’s exactly what has just happened.