A CHARITY has hit out after a guest on TalkTV claimed all Muslim voters are “by definition anti-Jewish”.
Speaking to the broadcaster’s Talk Today with Jeremy Kyle and Rosie Wright show, political columnist Trevor Kavanagh was discussing antisemitism within the Labour Party.
It came after Labour withdrew their support for Rochdale by-election candidate Azhar Ali following remarks he made about Israel in which he apparently blamed Jewish media for fuelling criticism against a pro-Palestinian MP.
“By the very definition of being a Muslim voter, you are going to be anti-Jewish”.
— Muslims Against Antisemitism (MAAS) (@MAAS_UK) February 15, 2024
Comments like this on @TalkTV simply left unchallenged.
In today’s world anti-Muslim bigotry is just glibly made: @Ofcom - how is this acceptable?pic.twitter.com/lTHwNsqSYq
On Tuesday, former Labour MP for Hyndburn, Graham Jones, was suspended after allegedly referring to “f****** Israel”.
Speaking to TalkTV, Kavanagh said: “Most of the measures taken by Keir Starmer to keep the lid on the antisemitism in the Labour Party has been cosmetic.
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“Simply because a 30% vote in constituencies like Rochdale are antisemitic. By the very definition of Islam, by the very definition of being a Muslim voter, you are going to be anti-Jewish.”
Kyle then asked if Ali had said what he said in order "to appeal to a certain section of the Rochdale electorate”.
Kavanagh replied: “I cannot believe that he didn’t know what he was saying and the impact that it would have on other people in the audience.
“But he also clearly has not learnt from the experience of what happened in the Commons when the debate was interrupted by someone saying that Rishi Sunak has ‘blood on his hands’.”
This comment was made by Birmingham MP Tahir Ali, although Kavanagh initially said it was made by Azhar Ali before correcting himself to say it was made by “another Muslim MP”.
The charity Muslims Against Antisemitism has since responded to the comments, which were first made on Wednesday.
In a post on Twitter/X, the group said: “Comments like this on @TalkTV simply left unchallenged. In today’s world anti-Muslim bigotry is just glibly made.”
It then tagged media watchdog Ofcom and asked, “how is this acceptable”.
Another social media user described the comments as "hideous" while the Centre for Media Monitoring questioned why the remarks were left "unchallenged" and asked Ofcom how what was said was "acceptable speech".
A TalkTV spokesperson said: "TalkTV broadcasts a wide range of opinions. The conversation broadcast yesterday morning should have been handled differently and this comment should have been challenged on air. We apologise to those who have been offended by the remark."
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