Kritik an Israel bleibt Tabu: Britischer Kabarettist empört über feiges Einknicken der BBC

Kennzeichen einer freien Gesellschaft ist, dass dort nichts und niemand gegenüber politischer Satire unantastbar ist. Sobald plötzlich Ausnahmeregeln aufgestellt werden, gilt das ein Alarmsignal. Entsprechend fassungslos zeigt sich der britische Kabarettist Frankie Boyle, der bei seinen Auftritten das Vorgehen des Staates Israel zum Thema machte, woraufhin sich Boyles Sender, die BBC, eilfertig öffentlich entschuldigte:

Earlier this week, the BBC's Trust issued a public apology for Boyle's comedy bit, originally aired on the station's Political Animal radio show in June 2008, and in which the comedian made remarks such as: "I've been studying Israeli Army Martial Arts. I now know 16 ways to kick a Palestinian woman in the back."

Boyle had also said in his 2008 comedy bit that, while "people think that the Middle East is very complex but I have an analogy that sums it up quite well. If you imagine that Palestine is a big cake, well ... that cake is being punched to pieces by a very angry Jew," Boyle said.

In his letter published Saturday, Boyle said that he first thought "the show's producers will have thought that Israel, an aggressive, terrorist state with a nuclear arsenal was an appropriate target for satire," adding that the BBC's recent apology proved him wrong.

"If you imagine that a state busily going about the destruction of an entire people is fair game, you are mistaken. Israel is out of bounds," Boyle said.

Boyle continued in his letter, voicing his disappoint that such "a great institution" as the BBC has proved itself as "cravenly afraid of giving offence and vulnerable to any kind of well drilled lobbying."

Hurra, wir kapitulieren – wieder einmal.

(Nachtrag, ein paar Tage später: Die Haaretz scheint den verlinkten Artikel vom Web genommen zu haben, aber wenigstens gibt's Google-Cache.)