Check your Israel privilege

Brendan O’Neil is on form. Wiley isn’t ill – he’s racist How identity politics helped to resuscitate anti-Semitism. 

I admit I hadn’t heard of Wiley aka Richard Kylea Cowie Jr., MBE (because grime isn’t my thing) until the latest hoo-ha about his racist Tweets. Oh, and by the way, I don’t Tweet myself - although I do spy on other people’s Tweets when my attention is drawn to them.

BON (a common abbreviation) receives some rather hostile comments for his troubles. (Don’t confuse him with Bono. Or Bonio.) He points out that many people are eager to excuse the poor chap - “he’s suffering from a mental illness” 

Then he gets to a broader issue and one I’m very familiar with.

“The NME even referred to Wiley’s tweets as his ‘Israel tweets’. ‘Wiley responds to anti-Semitism accusations over his Israel tweets’, a headline said. Israel tweets? His tweets were about Jews, those snakes who dominate everything, hate black people and are a destructive force. Even where he mentioned Israel, he was really talking about Jews, as is often the case, tragically, in certain sections of the ‘Palestine solidarity’ movement these days. For some people, Israel has become a proxy for the Jews. What they might once have said about the Jews – sly, controlling, bloodthirsty – they now say about Israel instead. We know this from the past few years of Corbynism, which attracted numerous anti-Semites masquerading as critics of Israel.”

The BBC has just come up with something rather spooky. 

“After an anti-Semitic tirade that prompted a Twitter boycott, rapper Wiley has written abusive posts aimed at his Jewish critics on Facebook.

“Jewish critics” BBC? a truly bizarre description of people responding to an “anti-Semitic tirade.

“The grime artist posted on his personal Facebook page under his name Richard Kylea Cowie, the BBC has discovered.”

Belated discovery, but you could plead ‘better a few days late than never’.

“He specifically named Jewish celebrities - including Lord Alan Sugar, comedian David Baddiel and BBC presenter Emma Barnett.”

Mr Willy’s ’s not keen on Emma Barnett then and I daresay it’s mutual.

A good speech from Barnett. But all this wondering where people like Willy-Kylie-Cowie get their memes from does 'take one aback'. Part of it is down to the organisation that you work for Emma. Look - it’s behind you!