Hasan Piker on Being Banned from U.K., Traveling to Cuba & Supporting Candidates Critical of Israel

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AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now! , democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.

Earlier this week, the British government banned the progressive political commentators Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur from entering the U.K. They were scheduled to speak at the SXSW London festival and the Oxford Union Society. The U.K.’s Home Office said it was canceling their travel permits, quote, “on the grounds that their presence in the U.K. may not be conducive to the public good,” unquote. Both Piker and Uygur are outspoken in their criticism of Israel. Recent comments from — that have drawn scrutiny include Piker saying that as a, quote, “lesser-evil voter,” he “would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time,” unquote.

The week prior to their ban, British Labour MP David Taylor called for Piker to be barred, saying, quote, “It’s shocking that SXSW would invite someone who has openly supported a proscribed terrorist organisation and spouted these kinds of vile antisemitic rants to speak at their festival. With the unacceptable rise in antisemitism on our streets leaving British Jews in a constant state of anxiety, Hasan Piker is clearly not conducive to the public good,” he said.

Hasan Piker is one of the most prominent online influencers on the left. He has millions of followers and subscribers across social media platforms. He live-streams on the gaming platform Twitch for hours every day. Recently, he’s drawn the ire of the Democratic Party leadership for endorsing and campaigning on behalf of progressive candidates in primaries across the country.

To talk more about his ban from the U.K., his views on Israel, his critique of the Democratic Party and more, we’re joined by Hasan Piker from his home, where he streams, in West Hollywood, California.

Hasan, welcome to Democracy Now! Can you start off by responding to this ban on you and — Cenk is your uncle, is that right, Cenk Uygur?

HASAN PIKER : Yes.

AMY GOODMAN : On what this means? In fact, you’re going to virtually participate in the Oxford debate anyway, right?

HASAN PIKER : Yeah, I was also supposed to — first of all, thank you for having me. It’s a real honor to be on the show. I’m basically listening to the show a lot earlier than I normally would, because I usually do that in my morning routine.

But so, Cenk and I were supposed to participate at the Oxford Union. We were supposed to do different panels at SXSW . I was also supposed to have a conversation with Jeremy Corbyn and Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green Party, and I also had another talk set up with former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. And then, Cenk was supposed to travel to the U.K. with his family, and he was stopped at the airport, and he found out that his visa had been rescinded and that he could not get on the plane. So I ended up checking my visa, as well, and found out that my visa was also revoked.

Now, I find what the British government did here to be objectionable. I find it to be disgusting. I also find it to be terrifying. I think it’s a terrifying prospect for the future of Western liberal democracies. The fact that a country that has in the past harbored much more radical thinkers than myself to completely drop all pretext that they care about free expression instead of protecting it is, I think, a sign of the times. I think it’s a sign that we’re moving down into a — we’re headed down a very different — dare I say, fascist — direction in the Western world.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And this is — this in happening, Hasan, under a Labour government in Britain, especially given Britain’s particular role when it comes to Israel and Palestine, being the primary imperial power that allowed the creation or promoted the development of the state of Israel.

HASAN PIKER : Yeah, absolutely. There is definitely a lot of culpability, that extends far beyond the Balfour Declaration. And the British government has been coordinating with the Israeli government. The Royal Air Force has been conducting surveillance missions, flying off of their Cyprus base. Keir Starmer has actually visited this base and has openly admitted that he could never say in broad daylight what the Royal Air Force is doing there. Starmer has also invited Isaac Herzog, who has been mentioned in the ICC and the ICJ court cases against both Israel and Israeli officials, like former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

So, the fact that England extends a red carpet to war criminals and collaborators of war criminals that have played a role in the genocide of the Palestinians, but then critics of Israel are considered to be real threats, significant threats to public safety is preposterous. But once again, I think this is a real warning. Just as the proscription of Palestine Action and the mass arrests that have taken place of pensioners in the U.K. that have demonstrated in support of Palestine Action…