Backlash After Ex-Sun Editor Tells TalkTV That ‘By Definition’ Being Muslim Means Being ‘Anti-Jewish’’
Former political editor of The Sun Trevor Kavanagh faced accusations of Islamophobia Thursday after telling TalkTV hosts that “by the very definition of being a Muslim you are going to be anti-Jewish.”
Kavanagh appeared on TalkTV to speak to hosts Jeremy Kyle and Rosie Wright to discuss Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to drop Rochdale by-election candidate Azhar Ali.
Ali was dropped by Labour after secret recordings surfaced of him criticising “Jewish segments of the media” and claims Israel had a hand in facilitating a Hamas attack to “green light” invading Gaza.
Kavanagh said: “Most of the measures taken by Keir Starmer to keep the lid on the anti-Semitism in the Labour Party have been cosmetic, simply because a 30 percent vote in constituencies like Rochdale are anti-Semitic.”
He added: “By the very definition of Islam, by the very definition of being a Muslim voter, you’re going to be anti-Jewish.”
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) criticised the hosts for leaving the comment “unchallenged.”
Writing on X, the organisation’s Centre for Media Monitoring’s (CfMM), wrote: “Question for @Ofcom. Is this Islamophobia now acceptable speech on British TV?”
Guardian commentator Owen Jones also commented: “Islamophobia is completely respectable and mainstream in the UK. Just listen to this rampant, unchallenged hate speech. While some will criticise it, there will be no firestorm over this disgrace, which is what would happen if Islamophobia was taken seriously.”
Kavanagh, who previously sat on the board of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso), came under fire in 2017 over an article he wrote in The Sun that questioned how Britain should handle “the Muslim problem.”
The use of the phrase led to backlash from faith groups, including the Board of Deputies of British Jews, who said the argument was reminiscent of the language used to conjure hatred against Jews through the 20th century. Despite the protest, Ipso ruled that the column did not breach accuracy or discrimination clauses in the editors’ code of practice and the Kavanagh offered to apologies to those offended. He left Ipso that year, just two years into his three year contract.
