Rachel Riley in Newsnight clash with Kirsty Wark as Countdown star tells the BBC Palestine protesters have right to freedom of speech but NOT to support terrorists Hamas
- Riley likened supporting Hamas to supporting the Taliban in support of Afghans
Countdown presenter Rachel Riley told the BBC that Palestinian protesters had a right to freedom of speech but said ‘they don’t have a right to support terrorism’.
The 37-year-old Jewish star, who has had long running battles with the Corbynite wing of the Labour party over antisemitism, joined Kirsty Wark on Newsnight to discuss the marches and supporters of Palestine.
In the interview, Riley likened supporting Hamas to supporting the Taliban in support of Afghans.
But Wark was quick to interject that ‘of course many Palestinians do not support Hamas’.
Wark asked Riley: ‘Do you accept that people who support the Palestinians and feel strongly about their plight have a right to march and have a right to freedom of speech in this situation?’
To which Riley replied: ‘Of course everyone has a right to freedom of speech. They don’t have a right to support terrorism.
Riley likened supporting Hamas to supporting the Taliban in support of Afghans
‘Hamas is a designated terrorist organisation in the UK. It’s designated by most Western Governments, most decent governments, so to support Hamas is illegal against the Counter Terrorism Act.
‘Supporting Hamas in support of the Palestinian people is equivalent to supporting the Taliban in support of Afghans.
‘It’s incompatible with their freedom, with being able to live their lives peacefully, which is well, what any decent person on the planet wants.’
Wark quickly interjected with: ‘In a way, what I would say to that as well is, of course, that many Palestinians do not support Hamas.’
The interview comes as the Countdown star spoke about how the amount of hatred she has witnessed for British Jews since the attack on Israel has left her ‘shaking with fear’.
‘ Hamas is a designated terrorist organisation in the UK,’ Riley told BBC Newsnight
Riley joined Kirsty Wark on Newsnight to discuss the marches and supporters of Palestine
She said the events of recent weeks have left her frequently in tears – and she has witnessed a torrent of abuse and misinformation.
Read more: Countdown star Rachel Riley says she has been left ‘shaking with fear’ due to amount of hatred for British Jews she has seen since Hamas terror attack on Israel
But she said the positive support in contrast had been ‘heartening’ – including the 50,000 British people who signed their name to an ‘October Declaration’ speaking out against antisemitism and the need to call out Hamas as ‘terrorists’.
Riley told MailOnline: ‘Sometimes I go online and I’m terrified by this huge overwhelming amount of people who seem to be baying for blood.
‘For me and my Jewish friends, the pain and the stress are something we are all struggling with.
‘We are crying when we wake up, we are struggling to sleep and the images of carnage are hard to get out of your head.
‘People are scared, they are hiding themselves, antisemitic attacks have gone up by more than 1000 per cent in London. The last global survey found there were 1.09billion people in the world who hold antisemitic views – so for every Jew on the planet there are 70 people who hate them. This is the scale we are dealing with.’
Rachel added: ‘But really there are a lot of people who support us and there are also people who are terrified about making a mis-step, saying the wrong thing, because they don’t know enough about the conflict.
‘Social media is polarising and those letters make you realise it is just a snapshot.’
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