On Sunday 5 October, EastEnders thespian Tracy-Ann Oberman suggested the ‘Death to the IDF’ chant is antisemitic. As the IDF – or ‘Israeli Defense Force’ – is the military which is enacting the genocide of the Palestinians, this would suggest that criticism of Israel and its actions is antisemitic. The problem with this is that it seems to be a textbook example of antisemitism as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
This isn’t the only criticism of what she said either:
“We’ve had repeated marches week after week with slogans and chants and placards that have left our community feeling intimidated and threatened”
Tracy-Ann Oberman smearing protests in support of the Palestinian people and against our govts complicity in Israels genocide. pic.twitter.com/wINOJmri7B
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) October 5, 2025
The IHRA and Tracy-Ann Oberman
When Jeremy Corbyn was the Labour leader, MPs and journalists decided it was crucial that Labour adopt the IHRA definitions of antisemitism. The Canary reported on the problems with the IHRA definitions; these problems were also raised by Kenneth Stern – the man who defined them – who said in 2016:
It is a useful tool for identifying and analyzing antisemitism, and understanding when and how leaders should speak out against it, but was never meant to provide a framework for eviscerating free speech or academic freedom, let alone labelling anyone an antisemite.
Stern highlighted how some used the definitions to crack down on Palestinians who were opposing Israel’s siege of Gaza (a siege which they’d been perpetrating for over 10 years at that point):
Some right-wing Jewish groups, and individuals, have tried to overstep the bounds of the clarification by filing Title VI cases arguing that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, educational programs about the occupation of the West Bank, and anti-Israel classroom texts and speakers transgressed the definition and were evidence of a Title VI violation. All the cases lost.
The IHRA antisemitism indicator which Oberman seems to have violated is this:
Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.
What seems to be implicit in her statement is that you can’t direct hostility towards Israel or its agents of genocide, because…
Because what?
If Jews aren’t collectively responsible for the IDF or their murderous actions, then you can criticise the IDF without implicitly criticising Jewish people. While chanting ‘death to the IDF’ is obviously more than criticism, the same logic applies.
We should also add that whatever you’re feelings on the chant are, it’s hardly abnormal for people in the West to employ violent rhetoric against foreign invasion forces.
Bob Vylan’s music is not my cup of tea but, let’s be honest here, had they gone on stage at Glastonbury a few weeks ago and chanted ‘death to the Russian army’ no one in positions of influence would have given a shit. https://t.co/R8YpovO0ST
— Phil Jones (@PhilJones33) July 10, 2025
Oberman’s latest interview could also violate the following IHRA antisemitism indicator, in that you could infer that Oberman is saying criticism of the IDF is antisemitic because all Jewish people are inherently loyal to Israel and its actions:
Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
Of course, we could be completely misreading what Oberman said. Given that Philip Proudfoot successfully sued her over defamatory accusations of antisemitism, she has no doubt thought a lot about what she can and cannot get away with:
https://t.co/bkyHnwCxl2 pic.twitter.com/XeLsLlJZKO
— James Foster (@JamesEFoster) October 5, 2025
Doublespeak
Despite telling us the IHRA definitions were essential under Corbyn, establishment figures have since insisted it’s okay for them to conflate criticism of Israel with criticism of Jewish people. One of the British media’s top minds actually explained this just yesterday:
Dan Hodges: “I’m conflating criticism of Israel with attacks on Jews.”
Almost all Zionist fanatics do this, but not many Zionist fanatics are dumb enough to just openly admit what they’re doing. https://t.co/AIU0eDVuXO
— Asa Winstanley (@AsaWinstanley) October 4, 2025
The problem with Hodges’ distinction between ‘criticism’ and ‘actions’ is that people are criticising Israel for its actions – i.e. there is no distinction.
You may be unsurprised to discover that Hodges denies Israel is committing a genocide even now, and yet he was quick to accuse Russia of the same thing:
Did he do that. Or did he call for the reports to be verified first…
— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) October 3, 2025
This is precisely why I didn’t post every time you said it.
Owned. You absolute prat. pic.twitter.com/KxYBMHdqJ2
— Evolve Politics (@evolvepolitics) October 3, 2025
Would you believe that people have also accused Hodges of holding all Palestinians – including their children – collectively responsible for the actions of Hamas?
If Dan Hodges said 5% of what he tweeted today about Ukrainians, he’d be out of a job.
But he can log on to this webpage and call for the collective punishment of millions of people because they’re Palestinian, and our establishment media does not recognize them as human. pic.twitter.com/gcu8OJ5Kxh
— Philip Proudfoot (@PhilipProudfoot) February 8, 2025
We agree that Jewish people shouldn’t collectively be held responsible for the IDF; do our journalists and politicians agree that Palestinians should not be held collectively responsible for Hamas?
Oh, and collective punishment is a war crime by the way – one which the International Crimnal Court has accused Israel of perpetrating.
All this is to illustrate the sort of doublespeak which the British media ignores at best and encourages at worst. This is why no one in the media will challenge Oberman, and why the rhetoric against Palestinian people from UK politicians and journalists increasingly matches that of the war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu:
All Palestinian children are taught from Kindergarten to hate Jews and want to kill them. There are textbooks in Gaza that prove it. It is not safe to allow them into the UK. The security of British Jews comes first! https://t.co/5LlHsRMY9Z
— Allison Pearson (@AllisonPearson) October 4, 2025
This is a party political decision, a signal for votes. If and when one of these students engages in terror here, it will be the fault of the govt. They understand the risk of bringing nearly-impossible to vet, ultra radicalised and brainwashed haters of the west into the UK.… https://t.co/5tA3qqPBcw
— Zac Goldsmith (@ZacGoldsmith) October 5, 2025
Our establishment is actually incredibly supportive of the idea of collective responsibility, and that’s becoming clearer every day.
Featured image via Sky News (YouTube)
By Willem Moore
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