Presented by David Dimbleby Original language(s) English Camera setup multi-camera | Country of origin United Kingdom Location(s) Finchley, London | |
Starring Jonathan Freedland
George Galloway
Tristram Hunt
Nicky Morgan
Cristina Odone | ||
The Question Time George Galloway in Finchley controversy relates to an edition of the BBC's Question Time broadcast on 5 February 2015 in which the Respect Party's George Galloway, then a member of parliament, was invited to participate. Hosted by David Dimbleby as usual, the edition was recorded earlier in the evening in Finchley, North London, an area which has the largest Jewish minority in the UK.
Contents
Although Galloway has appeared on Question Time on many occasions, this invitation was criticised ahead of the broadcast because of Galloway's outspoken attitude towards Israel.
Announcement
News of Galloway's invitation emerged in late January, more than a week before the broadcast. The chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council thought the BBC's invitation was "at best insensitive and at worst an unnecessary provocative stunt, which is unbecoming of the UK's national broadcaster." The chief executive of the Board of Deputies, Gillian Merron, thought an "inflammatory and cynical decision" had been made, but also said "we look forward to" people in the constituency "having the opportunity to call George Galloway to account for his scandalous record of provocation and division." Mike Freer, the Conservative member of parliament for Finchley and Golders Green, also thought the BBC had made a decision which lacked sensitivity.
At the end of January, the BBC defended Galloway's right to speak on this edition on freedom of speech grounds and because he is an MP. On Twitter, two days prior to the programme, Galloway accused "Zionist extremists" of attempting to "wreck" his participation.
Broadcast
Earlier in the day of the programme's recording and transmission, a new study by the Community Security Trust, a British charity which monitors antisemitism, had issued a study reporting 1,168 antisemitic incidents during 2014. This figure was more than double that of the previous year and the highest number recorded in the UK since 1984, the earliest year for which such reports exist.
The last question asked by an audience member was: "Why is antisemitism rising in the UK and do you think a certain member of the panel bear[s] some responsibility for this?" In this part of the programme Galloway was repeatedly heckled, and Dimbleby asked for calm several times.
Jonathan Freedland, an executive editor of The Guardian, "People like George Galloway need to exercise great responsibility in this area because it’s incendiary… and can lead to hate," He accused Galloway of conveying antisemitic conspiracy theories about Israel's supposed involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. As part of his response to the question, Galloway said: "I can’t tell you how deeply I resent this part of the programme. Antisemitism is a foul form of racism that in the 1930s led to the Holocaust." He insisted that he would have fought fascism if he had been around at the time.
Freedland was criticised by Galloway for referring to the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict as "a resumption of violence", whereas "other people call it mass murder by Israel" in which "2,136 Palestinians locked up in a prison camp called Gaza" had died. Galloway said that attacks on Muslims in the UK were more numerous and called for unity on opposing antisemitism and Islamophobia. Freedland, who had drawn a connection between the war and the increase in antisemitism in the UK, was not asked to return to the discussion by Dimbleby.
The other panellists on the programme were the secretary of state for education Nicky Morgan, shadow education spokesman Tristram Hunt and journalist Cristina Odone.
Aftermath
After the broadcast, Galloway asserted that he had been "set up" by the BBC, because the second part of the question was delivered without the consent of the production team, but left in; the programme, as usual, was pre-recorded. He asserted that Dimbleby had apologised for the question privately. The questioner, student Gabriel Rosen, later said the claim about his unauthorised addition was true.
In Galloway's opinion, Freedland had taken the role of "the prosecutor-in-chief, he lit the touch paper and then smugly retired." Freedland expressed disappointment at the behaviour of the audience. Responding to Galloway's accusation, he said: "I simply pointed out that he has in the past inflamed an already tense issue by making wild, unfounded accusations – a point he did not address." Galloway wrote an extended post on his blog in which he asserted that the audience selection was "laughably biased" and that "not a single visibly Muslim person made it to the audience."
Roslyn Pine, of the North Salford Synagogue, condemned the behaviour of the audience because it reduced the time available "to make the points which would have shown Galloway for what he is". Alex Brummer, wrote in The Jewish Chronicle: "We must all combat those who single out Israel as a pariah state rather than recognising its achievements. But shouting down the messengers, rather than engaging in serious dialogue, doesn’t make much sense."
In February 2016, Marc Goldberg in a blog for The Times of Israel criticised Galloway's comment: "Many Jews are not Zionists and most Zionists are not Jews…You’re playing a very dangerous game". In his opinion "what would be so bad if, as Jews keep saying, Judaism and Zionism are bound together. This idea of danger only makes sense if" Galloway is "arguing that Zionists are fair game for something 'dangerous', that Zionists are such scum that they get whatever they deserve the only worry being for 'innocent' Jews who declare their hatred for Israel".