Glastonbury Festival has agreed to cancel the planned screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, after we wrote to the organisers and the event’s primary sponsor, leading a public outcry.
The Festival’s website said of the film, titled Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie, that it “explores a dark and murky story of political deceit and outrageous antisemitic smears.” A trailer of the film showed one interviewee questioning whether Mr Corbyn was brought down by an “orchestrated campaign”.
The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation Jewish Voice for Labour; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.
Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.
The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.
Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to the Festival, and also to the Festival’s Official Connectivity Partner, Vodafone, with whom it announced a “multi-year partnership” earlier this year, explaining the genesis and purpose of the film and arguing that Festival-goers should be allowed to enjoy the live performances without fear of indoctrination from antisemitism-deniers, which would serve only to alienate Jewish ticket-holders.
A spokesperson for Glastonbury said: “It’s become clear that it is not appropriate for us to screen it [the film] at the Festival.Glastonbury is about unity and not division, and we stand against all forms of discrimination.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Following our letter to Glastonbury and the public outcry, we are pleased to see that the antisemitism-denial film ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn: The Big Lie’ will no longer be screened at the Festival. The film should never have been considered for screening, as this kind of gaslighting of the Jewish community was at the heart of why the Equality and Human Rights Commission found that the Labour Party had illegally created a hostile environment for Jews. This is the right decision, and a win for music-lovers who want to enjoy performances free from propaganda.”
