Israel rebukes BBC over Eurovision choice
Corporation condemned over backing for Olly Alexander after he signed ‘apartheid regime’ letter
ISRAEL has accused the BBC of shirking its “moral responsibility” after The
Daily Telegraph revealed that its choice of Eurovision entrant had called the country an “apartheid regime”.
Olly Alexander, selected by the corporation to represent Britain in the song contest in Sweden in May, put his name to a letter that also accused Israel of genocide. Campaigners against anti-semitism have demanded that the BBC cuts ties with the pop star, but it is understood the corporation does not plan to take any action.
The letter signed by Alexander, which criticised the Israeli response to the Oct 7 Hamas terror attacks, was published just under two weeks after the massacre, in which more than 1,200 people died.
Sharing a link to The Telegraph’s report on Twitter, the Israeli embassy in London said: “Clearly, Olly Alexander graduated from the Middle Eastern school of Tiktok. We would be happy to arrange a trip for you to visit the massacre sites in Israel, where the rights of LGBTQ+ are celebrated, protected and cherished. Unfortunately, our neighbours can’t guarantee the same.”
Tiktok has been accused of failing to do enough to stop the spread of pro-ha- mas propaganda and anti-semitic content.
The company has said its algorithm does not influence impressionable users, and that it has removed hundreds of thousands of videos related to the war.
Same-sex activity between men is illegal in the Palestinian occupied territories and carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years, while Israel is seen as the most gay-friendly country in the Middle East, with annual pride parades in big cities.
An Israeli embassy spokesman said: “Yet again, the BBC has fallen well short of its moral responsibility to adhere to the standard of due impartiality.
“Particularly at this time, the decision of the BBC to send an entrant to Eurovision who espouses such partial views of Israel and promotes such dehumanising language of Israelis is a major cause for concern.”
The Israeli government joined criticism of Alexander, calling his arguments “absurd” and accusing those who signed the letter of anti-israel bias.
An Israeli official said: “Few things are more absurd than the queer community standing with a radical Islamist society in its obsession to destroy the only country in the Middle East where queer people can simply be themselves.
“It warrants serious research to figure out where it is coming from, if not from pure anti-semitism. As for genocide: it is defined as ‘acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group’. It is clear to any unbiased person that the only genocide in this country took place on Oct 7, and the victims were Israelis.”
The letter signed by Alexander, which was coordinated by Voices4london, an LGBT+ group, called solidarity with Palestinians a “queer issue” and condemned “Zionist propaganda” and “unthinking philosemitism”.
Yesterday, the broadcaster Angela Epstein, who is Jewish, joined calls for the BBC to drop Alexander and accused it of a “pathetic” response to the letter.
“It’s a bit of a dog ate my homework excuse that he signed it before he was appointed,” she told LBC Radio. “With profile comes responsibility, so he’s propagating lies which are anti-israel which therefore contribute to spiralling anti-semitism.
“They are grasping at straws to justify their position. If they really want to do something for the Jewish community or anyone who believes in humanity or equality, they should make him stand down,” Ms Epstein added.
The BBC declined to comment on Alexander’s comments. Representatives of the singer and Voices4london were contacted for comment.