Voice of the Jewish News: The hidden agenda that’s not so hidden

This week's editorial reflects on Radiohead's refusal to heed calls to boycott the Jewish state

By Richard Ferrer
  • Richard Ferrer has been editor of Jewish News since 2009. As one of Britain's leading Jewish voices he writes for The Times, Independent, New Statesman and many other titles. Richard previously worked at the Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, edited the Boston Jewish Advocate and created the Channel 4 TV series Jewish Mum Of The Year.
 13 July 2017, 12:28 pm
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke in action

Anyone with half an eye on the recent Glastonbury and TRNSMT music festivals will have seen Palestinian flags waved in the crowd by those calling for Radiohead to cancel its concert in Tel Aviv next week.

This motley crew count among their fans the film director Ken Loach, who has repeatedly urged the group to boycott Israel [the same Ken Loach whose film I Daniel Blake is currently being screened in – you guessed it –  Tel Aviv].

This week, for the second time, Radiohead’s lead singer Thom Yorke put him in his place, pointing out: “Music, art and academia is about crossing borders not building them, about open minds not closed ones.”

Of course, the major wrinkle in Mr Loach’s worldview is that if he were to be randomly dropped from the sky into any Middle East country, he would pray to his maker that his biased little backside landed in Israel.

There is no second choice country in the region if you value women’s rights, gay rights, religious freedom, political freedom, free speech and a free press.

Which begs the question: what’s really behind Mr Loach and his flag-waving friends’ Israel aversion?

 

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