What do a British radio DJ, a French satirical magazine, and a prominent Israeli Rabbi have in common? The trio proved that hate speech, while unacceptable when aimed at any other community in “civilised” democracies, is inconsequential when directed at Muslims. As all three have mocked and celebrated recent earthquakes that claimed the lives of over 40,000 Muslim men, women, and children with absolutely no repercussions.
Ant Payne, who triggered 600 Ofcom complaints when he told his Capital FM listeners that “now was the best time to start looking at some cheap flights to Turkey” to “get their teeth done” following the horrific earthquakes, then denied the outburst only to apologise, after being “read the riot act” by his station bosses. However, with no mention of sacking, suspension, or a fine, the matter was swept under the rug.
Similarly, no action was taken by the CSA, France’s media regulator, against Charlie Hebdo, a magazine notorious for capitalising on abusing Muslims, when it published a cartoon depicting damaged housing and a heap of rubble with the heading ‘Earthquake in Turkey’ and the caption ‘No need to send tanks.’
It was hardly surprising that there was no response to an outburst by Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu in Israel where successive regimes have surged further to the extreme right. Eliyahu, who has close ties with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, claimed the earthquake was “divine justice” and God was punishing the victims for mistreating Jews.
There was no respite from anti-Muslim speech, not even against Muslim children in the “mother of all parliaments,” where Tory MP Jonathan Gullis absolved the government of responsibility over missing asylum-seeking children housed in Home Office-secured hotels by insisting, they “shouldn’t have come here illegally.”
How can there be any checks and balances to stop the slide into moral decay unless such people are punished, as examples?
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