I think Frankie Boyle is perhaps Britain’s most talented comedian. I’ve seen him live and he was outrageous, hilarious and sharp all night. I gave him the benefit of the doubt when he made jokes about Israel, because he also managed to be offensive on other topics, including Islamic terrorism, so I assumed he had no agenda other than to universally shock.
However, after the BBC Trust recently apologised about two of Boyle’s Israel jokes he has lashed out with a ludicrous open letter:
‘I think the problem here is that the show’s producers will have thought that Israel, an aggressive, terrorist state with a nuclear arsenal was an appropriate target for satire.’
Aggressive? Terrorist? He shows no evidence for these outrageous descriptions. Like many of Israel’s critics he believes that if he throws around enough inflammatory adjectives that nobody will notice he has no evidence.
His next thoughts are – pardon the pun – a complete joke.
‘The Trust’s ruling is essentially a note from their line managers. It says that 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.’
So let’s get this straight. Israel is, according to Boyle, intent on the destruction of an entire people. But he has also told us it is an aggressive, nuclear-armed terrorist state. So why hasn’t it managed to destroy that entire people?
Why, in fact, has the opposite happened with, for instance, life expectancy increasing in the West Bank since the Israeli ‘occupation’ began? Why does Israel – at huge risk to its doctors – treat sick Gazans in Israeli hospitals? The destruction of an entire people? Don’t be so ridiculous.
Then we begin to see his true colours.
‘The BBC refused to broadcast a humanitarian appeal in 2009 to help residents of Gaza rebuild their homes. It’s tragic for such a great institution but it is now cravenly afraid of giving offence and vulnerable to any kind of well drilled lobbying.’
Ah, the old ‘lobby’ chestnut.
‘The situation in Palestine seems to be, in essence, apartheid. I grew up with the anti apartheid thing being a huge focus of debate.’
‘Seems to be’ indeed. Again, there is no evidence backing up his claim about the apartheid ‘thing’ applying to Israel. He then turns to a film he once watched including a scene in a Palestinian hospital involving a ‘UN dignitary of some kind’ which made him cry. It’s all very vague and he doesn’t seem to have quite understood what he saw or what factors contributed to the situation portrayed in the scene.
The lazy, ill-informed approach Boyle has taken to forming his views on the Middle East is clear throughout his open letter. So I hold my hands up: I was wrong to assume Boyle had no agenda with his Israel jokes.
Hopefully his career is now finished
How do you hear about all these things Chas, you are so clued up? I used to watch Frankie Boyle on Mocking The Week but I must say I preferred Andy Parsons (the bald one).
I…….don’t……..like………Andy…Parsons…because he……………………takes…so…….long…………..to……………reach his punchlines!
I wonder how much of this is real hatred for Israel and how much is just the bruised ego of a man who can’t bear being told where the boundaries are. He seems to be venting because the BBC said he crossed a line and he doesn’t like any lines, but surely he can see this is a bigger issue than him and his comedy? Israel is a real place with real people living there.
Thanks for this column Chas.
He does seem very vague on everything – I imagine under questioning he’d fall apart quite quickly, but he probably considers himself a left liberal so he “just knows” Israel is in the wrong.
Occasionally someone has the persistence to jump through all the BBC’s hoops and reach the level of the BBC Trust. And even more rarely, the Trust finds in their favour. It also happened with Jeremy Bowen last year. When they are red-carded, boy do they squeal.
It shows how anti-Israel is the “prevailing wisdom” at the BBC.
What a dreadful tirade. How dare he? Pathetic sounding man, to throw such nasty and baseless insults at israel. Pathetic.
Wasn’t he the one who made an offensive remark about the Queen on Mock The Week during the Ross and BrandGate affair?
Israel IS a terrorist state.
Let’s be honest half a million Palestinians fled from Israel in the 1940s after the terrorist attack on that country by its Arab neighbours. For the last 60 years they’ve generally been living in dreadful circumstances due to the stupidity of their own leaders, their fellow Arabs and bleeding hearts like Frankie Boyle.
Meanwhile back in the 1940s half a million Karelian Finns were kicked out of their country by Russia. They don’t bomb restaurants in Moscow, they don’t launch rocket attacks on St Petersburg, they’ve been integrated into Finnish life. I don’t suppose the bleeding hearts have even heard of Karelia but there’s a lesson there for the Palestinians who certainly deserve better than Mr Boyle.
Thanks very much for this Chas. I am the complainant.
I can confirm that’s the first time I’ve ever been referred to as “a well drilled lobby.”
The assumption that I am part of a lobby reveals more about Mr Boyle than it does me. I do not belong to any organization, nor do I hold any senior position.
But then I guess facts aren’t Mr Boyle’s strong point. His letter consists of the most ignorant drivel. I find it very funny that he now paints himself as an innocent victim – seems Mr Boyle is good at dishing it out, not so good at taking it on the chin. Such bullies often have glass jaws. And it is rather hard to take moral lessons from someone who thinks dead children with Down’s Syndrome are great comedic material.
I think the main point has been lost. Boyle can spout whatever ignorant crap he wants – but this was broadcast by the BBC, which has legal obligations, and which is funded by public money. I’m not going to be told I should pay a mandatory licence fee to hear anti-Semitic jokes. Of course he makes no reference to his choice of language for the joke, the very fact on which he was censured, and which changed the joke from satire (even if completely wrongheaded) to hatred.
Boyle makes several crass and unsubstantiated allegations to desperately try to find some moral high ground. I usually find that when the Boyles of this world make allegations through hysterical slogans their so-called arguments soon crumble. I suggest that if Mr Boyle is truly interested in apartheid, rather than looking at democratic Israel with its free elections, free press and independent judiciary, he turns his attention to the despotic and oppressive regimes of Hamas, Saudi Arabia and Iran. It may involve delving a little deeper than a documentary seen several years ago.
These are just the hateful rantings of a man with a bruised ego.
Who is he? Never heard of him.
I have his DVD but I won’t be buying anything of his in future
“Aggressive? Terrorist? He shows no evidence for these outrageous descriptions.”
How about this: Cast Lead, when 295 civilians were killed (1200 were killed but apparently if you’re male and live in Gaza you’re automatically a fair target – which seems like terrorism to me). In 2006, 36 Palestinians were killed for every Israeli. If you genuinely don’t believe that the Israeli military attitude to the conflict can be characterised as “aggressive”, I suggest you read some newspapers. Additionally, the blockade on the Gaza strip is an indiscriminate assault on every Gazan, regardless of their complicity in the Hamas government – an act of terrorism.
“So why hasn’t it managed to destroy that entire people?”
Maybe because it’s a 21st century democratic state? Maybe because using a nuclear arsenal on a tiny strip of land is overkill? Your statement shows an incredible lack of thought – the destruction of an entire people doesn’t need to involve rounding everyone up, it can take the form of dehumanising and degrading treatment, such as roadblocks restricting movement, bureaucratic barriers to land purchases and building permits and other oppressive measures. This in time makes life unbearable. Over a third of schools in Gaza were damaged during Cast Lead, and 18 were destroyed. For a place where half the population is school-age, this is barbaric. Unemployment is also rife, and no matter how much you try and place the blame on the Gazans themselves, the fact that their infrastructure is continually obliterated maintains this condition.
“Again, there is no evidence backing up his claim about the apartheid ‘thing’ applying to Israel .. It’s all very vague and he doesn’t seem to have quite understood what he saw or what factors contributed to the situation portrayed in the scene.”
And again, if you’d do some reading you’d find all his assertions stand up. See, for example, the Citizenship Law (Temporary Order), the findings of the Or Commission, or the fact that 14% of land owned by the JNF is not legally available for lease to Israel’s Arab citizens. It’s not enough to have everyone keep repeating the same points because you refuse to listen. The situation over there is despicable and an affront to common decency, and yet all you can do is perpetuate this status quo. Look at the Amnesty website, War on Want’s website, the BBC website, hell, any newspaper website and you’ll see the same story: the long, slow, violent smashing of a people.
None of that is evidence of his assertions, it’s one intepretation of – in some cases very questionable – ‘facts’ to suit an agenda.
“it’s one intepretation of – in some cases very questionable – ‘facts’ ”
Like what?
Like for example you think that because innocent people were killed (undeniable fact) that means the killers must be wrong. I understand that, it makes sense when you are observing from a distance and you don’t know all the details – of course it is an obvious view for you to take, I understand. And what would you do if this was London we were talking about instead? When your country was attacked by Muslim extremists not long ago you made a mistake immediately, your police shooting an innocent man at the train station. Remember this? Is Great Britain an aggressive terrorist state now? I do not think that, I think it was about doing the best to protect the masses of innocent people and there is a cost in that but a much bigger cost in not doing it, because this is real life and not academic. You can judge us from afar but it is our children that the rockets were fired at for several years before Cast Lead destroyed those rockets. Where was your condemnation of this? I heard nothing from Great Britain. Was there a high cost when we fought back and destroyed those rockets and also killed many innocents? Of course. Do we hate that? Of course we do. Do we cry and pray? You bet we do. Does it make anything better to sit at a distance and expect us to be better than you would be in our shoes? I don’t think so. This is real life, not tv. This Frankie Boyle person sounds like an entertainer and war is not entertaining it is serious, he should stick to what he knows and tell funny jokes. You people don’t know what it’s like to live in fear and yes we fight back and yes it is harsh and I don’t believe that you wouldn’t do the same.
Excellent points MG, and extremely moving.
In this case, the only time from my reading of your blog Chas’ I will disagree with you, I’m a big time Zionist, I took my gap year in Israel and will be on the first Aaliyah flight that I can be after I graduate, so we’re on the same page.. But I disagree, Israel IS Aggressive.
But she has very good reason to be aggressive. Very. With rockets firing into Southern Israel all from Gaza, and the occasional rocket firing in from Lebanon; and all kinds of other attacks centrally, Israel needs to be aggressive sometimes for the very need to stay secure. Gary is one of the charming people who come here to comment in the pursuit of challenging the Zionists – doesn’t Jenny Tonge (everyone’s favourite LbDm peer) say something like “If we only talk to our friends then we get nowhere”?
Yes Gary well done. the IDF when it needs to be has an aggressive attitude, this is because bar Egypt and Jordan with whom Israel has peace, every country in the region wants Israel destroyed, if all of Europe felt the same way towards Britain and had done since Britain was created, then our army too would have to at times, adopt an aggressive stance.
Wherever these unfortunate stats come from that the ratio of death amongst Palestinians is 1:36 that is truly horrendous, but when people are forced into letting militia fire rockets from their homes this is unfortunately the result – that is the reality of war.
It is very easy to throw around the word terrorist and apply it to your one sided interpretation of facts, the roadblocks apply indiscriminately to any citizen, I’ve had my ID checked at one before and Im a light skinned hebrew speaking Brit; and no-one can buy land in Israel, all land belongs to the JNF and is leased on extremely long leases to the government.
The government of Israel enacts certain laws and restrictions on Palestinians which are wrong and unjust, I acknowledge and accept that. But spending days and sometimes weeks on end in a bomb shelter, because your house isnt safe from rockets being fired at random is also wrong, fear for your life every time you take any form of public transport is also wrong, fearing for your life when eating out in restaurants or in shopping centers, wrong.
be critical of both sides, or not at all.
Thanks AG, and points taken.
I only just realised the Gary you refer to is the same Gary that I told last time he was here (when he hurled personal abuse at me): “Don’t waste your time coming back (under any of your various guises)”
Israel is aggressively defensive but in the context most people will think he meant aggressor and Israel is not an aggressor.
Hey Frankie, I hear your mother does a trick with a donkey,
Watsup Frankie its only a joke, like the ones you tried to justify to the poor mother of a downs syndrome child.
Why is it that these right on left wing comedians can use the most sesitive of subjects yet demenise the likes of Bernard Manning and Chubby Brown for their subjects.
Frankie Boyle is typical of the calibre of comedian that the BBC seems to think is ‘cutting edge’, his form of comedy most of us left behind at uni.
Frankie is a typical classroom bully who likes to dish it but cannot take it when he finds himself under attack.