BBC urged to hand police details of caller denouncing Jews and their “rule” over British society
By Jenni Frazer
A plea has been made for the BBC to hand over to the police details of a phone-in caller, after the man spent nearly 13 minutes on a radio programme denouncing Jews and their “rule” over British society.
In a phone call to BBC London’s Simon Lederman programme on Tuesday, December 22, the man, introduced as “Andy from St Margaret’s”, began by saying: “They are trying to control us more and more and more. They want to put a chip up our backsides, a ring through our noses, and a vizor for our horizons… the elite… the Rothschilds”.
Get The Jewish News Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up
The presenter, Simon Lederman, who is Jewish, started the exchange – which took place at 5am – by saying that it was a “phone-in amnesty” and that “within obvious limits”, the caller could say “whatever is on your mind”.
Immediately the caller began to complain of “Zionist Jews”, insisting, in a well-known antisemitic trope, that Jews did not come from Palestine but from “an empire called Khazaria.” He said: “Most of the Jews of the world come from eastern Europe, from a place called originally, an empire called Khazaria… The Rothschilds, the people who own the Bank of England, the people who own the Federal Reserve, they’re all Zionist Jews. The people who own corporate America, the media, you’ll find if you just do a little bit of research, they’re all Zionist Jews. We are ruled by Zionist Jews.”
The caller’s comments continued with a long and bad-tempered rant in which he complained of an obsession with the Holocaust and repeated: “We are dominated by the Jews’ system, the financial Jewish system.”
“We keep going on about the Jews… mainstream media, they keep banging on about the Jews and the Holocaust… we keep going on about six million Jews.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “The aim of the programme is to discuss and debate issues raised by our listeners. This was a live phone in and the caller was challenged on his views through out the conversation. Following the interview reaction from other listeners was also broadcast. As of yet we’ve had no formal request from the police for the caller’s details.”
Jonathan Sacerdoti, director of communication at the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Even for the BBC this is shocking. In this broadcast the radio presenter simply allowed an ignorant racist to speak for nearly quarter of an hour while offering no counter-argument, correction or condemnation of his views that Jews control money, banks, commerce and the media. We expect the BBC to now hand the caller’s telephone number to the police.”
Listen to the programme HERE
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
-
By Brigit Grant
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)