Disappointed, but sadly not surprised.
That was my response when I saw that Gary Lineker had reposted a video by ‘Palestine Lobby’ about Zionism which contained a rat.
The former England star since deleted the post, after seemingly finding out for the first time that rats have historically been used as an antisemitic trope and pleading ignorance.
This has been followed up by an apology, where he said he ‘takes full responsibility for this mistake. That image does not reflect my views’.
The apology is a start, but it does not go anywhere near far enough. Firstly, how did this happen in the first place? Secondly, the apology should have included a promise to learn about antisemitism to stop such mistakes happening in the future.
With antisemitism on the rise against Jewish communities at home and abroad since the attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and Israel’s subsequent war, we need public figures to take more responsibility.
The video Lineker originally shared purports to show ‘Zionism [the belief in a Jewish state in the Middle East] explained in two minutes’.
And the rat emoji is featured prominently next to the title. British Jews like me know instantly the significance of that – in 1930s Germany, the Nazis depicted Jews as rats as part of their propaganda to demean and humiliate our community.
Lineker has been increasingly outspoken on the conflict in recent months – but you can support the rights of Palestinians and not repost a video with an antisemitic rat trope.
It is galling that, despite the fact that Mr Lineker removed the post when he was told what he had done, and the major insult it would cause to British Jews, he continued today, the next day, to post about the Gaza conflict, only hours later issuing an apology after a number of publications drew attention to his mistake.
In a message via his agent, Lineker said, ‘Whilst viewing and reposting a video, Gary did not notice a rodent emoticon added by the author of the post. Although if he had, he would not have made any connection. The repost has been removed.’
It is the latter half of this statement that concerns me most. How can someone like Lineker be so clueless as to not realise this clear antisemitic symbol?
Der Strumer, an influential propaganda sheet during Hitler’s reign in Germany, included a cover image of a Nazi gassing Jewish rats under a tree, with a caption ‘When the vermin are dead, the German oak will flourish once more.’
My family came to the UK fleeing persecution in mainland Europe, including Nazi Germany itself. I have always believed that the UK has had a general, very good understanding of antisemitism, however this tends to worsen when conflicts involving Israel flare up.
It is my belief that everyone, especially high profile individuals, should do antisemitism – and all racism – training to make sure they are not unknowingly spreading hatred and so that they are fully aware of how communities like mine are being targeted.
Lineker may have apologised but he now has a duty to educate himself if he is going to continue posting about an issue as fraught as the conflict in Gaza.
Surely if you are going to have deep-held views on the war in Gaza and about the world’s only Jewish state, you also need to understand antisemitic tropes that can come into play when people post online?
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Lineker reposting this to his millions of followers has caused grave offence to many and indeed prominent Jewish groups such as the Board of Deputies and Campaign Against Antisemitism and individuals have spoken out against it and even called for him to be sacked.
I think, first of all, he needs to prove he is going to do the work to change. And also vet his posts on social media.
Being ignorant can no longer be an excuse and Mr Lineker must commit to do the learning so that this never happens again.
I would like to see him learn about and understand antisemitism, the true meaning of Zionism, and the importance to many of a Jewish homeland.
Antisemitism is everywhere, not least online. It’s just no good to delete the post, plead ignorance and then say ‘that image does not reflect my views’.
I won’t believe any apology until I’ve seen him engaging with organisations like the Holocaust Educational Trust to educate himself.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
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