Pro-Palestinian American streamer Hasan Piker and his uncle say the British government has banned them from entering the country because of their criticism of Israel.
Piker, 34, and Cenk Uyghur, a Turkish-American broadcaster and lawyer, were scheduled to speak at the South by Southwest Technology and Business Festival (SXSW) in London this week and at the Oxford Union, Britain’s prestigious university debate group.
But on Sunday, Piker posted on X that the British government had “cancelled my visa, all at the behest of Israel.”
The Uyghurs said they found out they had been banned from entering the country as they were about to board a flight to the British capital.
“I got banned for criticizing Israel. Are we free anymore? This is the oppression of Western people by another government!” he posted on X.
Piker’s hours-long livestream broadcasts discussing breaking news and policy are watched by more than 30,000 people each day, according to his profile on the SXSW website. The magazine describes him as an “authoritative voice” for Millennials and Gen Z. He has approximately 6.4 million followers across social media platforms X, Instagram, and Twitch.
According to the website, Uighurs founded an independent online talk show called The Young Turks, which has now grown to become the largest online news network in the United States. Uyghurs also campaigned for the Democratic candidate in the 2024 US presidential election.
In a statement to CNN, he claimed he was “banned from entering the country for appearing on a news program.” “Are there other countries you shouldn’t criticize, or is it just Israel? If their point was to show that Israel doesn’t enjoy special privileges in the West, they found a very cynical way to get that message across,” he said.
CNN has also reached out to Piker’s representatives for comment.
British media reports said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmoud canceled the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) for Piker and other Uyghurs, which allows non-British nationals to visit the country without a visa for up to six months. The Times of London reported on Monday that the decision to ban Uyghurs from traveling to the UK was “understood to be based on a number of grounds”, including the “risk of exacerbating anti-Semitism” if they remained in the UK.
The Home Office told CNN that such decisions are “solely based on an assessment of the potential risk an individual may pose to British society” and that “individuals may choose to apply for a visa if they wish to travel to the UK.”
In April, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that Jews were “afraid to show who they are” following a recent spate of anti-Semitic attacks.
Some Jewish groups say criticism of Israel fuels intimidation and anti-Semitism. But some say accusations of anti-Semitism have been used to suppress legitimate criticism of the Israeli government.
Piker has repeatedly insisted that he is not an anti-Semite but an anti-Zionist and has called for greater accountability for Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Both Piker and the Uyghurs describe the Israeli military offensive in Gaza as genocide.
In September, an independent UN investigation concluded that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, a finding the Israeli government rejected.
Piker, a self-described socialist, is one of the strongest defenders of the rights of Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
He also made statements that drew criticism. On an April episode of the podcast Pod Save America, he claimed, “I’m a less evil voter, so I’d vote for Hamas over Israel every time.” Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by many countries and groups, including the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union.
A few years ago, the Twitch streamer apologized for an “inappropriate” comment he made in 2019, saying “America deserved 9/11.” When he appeared on The Young Turks, he said, “I should have used my words more accurately and better there.”
Speaking at the Oxford Union last May, Mr Piker described anti-Semitism as “one of the oldest forms of prejudice that has caused great suffering to members of the Jewish faith”. He denounced the “conflation of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism” as a “cynical ploy to stop any kind of conversation.”
