Are you allowed to criticize Israel in UK media anymore?

[...]

In a recent article for the Independent, Zizek criticized Israel for its aggressive settlement policies in the occupied West Bank, and argued that such criticism of Israeli policies does not make someone an anti-Semite.

Within the text, the philosopher used a very inconsiderate turn of phrase - "the trouble with Jews." Immediately, a crowd of outraged commenters rose up, and fully proving Zizek's point, the paper removed the offending phrase and replaced it with "the trouble with the settlement project."

Zizek himself admits it was a poor choice of words, but when he asked the Independent to run a follow-up explanation, the paper refused - and RT is the only outlet that gave Zizek the floor.

"I was wrong, I committed an unpardonable mistake in using the phrase 'the trouble with Jews'... which effectively can be understood as implying that some 'trouble' pertains to the very identity of being a Jew."

[...]

The words were taken out of context, he says. In the original, they followed a reference to French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut, who said modern Jews had chosen "the path of rooting" - and "the Jews" Zizek refers to are those trying to "root" on occupied land.

Zizek believes it's part of a wider campaign against left-wing politicians and intellectuals to equate any criticism of Israel, as a state, to anti-Semitism.

[...]

Refusing to give Zizek the right to respond to his critics, the Independent cited election coverage crunch and how the debate would be a "tricky space" to wade into. Far from letting Zizek run a follow-up piece, the philosopher was even barred from posting a retort to the many "brutal attacks" he says were launched against him in the paper's comment section.

Spearheading the outrage against Zizek and his piece was Honest Reporting - an organization that, characteristically, conflates anti-Semitism and dislike of Israeli policies, and routinely criticizes media outlets for failing to adhere to the Israeli government narrative on settlements, the status of Jerusalem, Palestinians and other points.

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