We Believe in Israel (WBII) is outraged by the disgraceful decision of BBC presenter Gary Lineker to share a grotesquely antisemitic post, originally published by The Palestine Lobby, to his 1.2 million Instagram followers. The post was titled “Zionism explained in less than 2 mins” and was accompanied by a rat emoji — a symbol deliberately weaponised by the Nazis to portray Jews as vermin, paving the way for their extermination.
This is not a misunderstanding. This is not a slip of the finger. It is the calculated amplification of a piece of content that draws on the oldest and ugliest tropes of antisemitic hate — and it came from a man who has already demonstrated a consistent pattern of targeting Zionism and Israel through veiled and not-so-veiled commentary.
Gary Lineker is not just any public figure. He is a senior presenter at the BBC, an institution that claims to uphold the highest standards of impartiality and public trust. His platform carries weight. His actions shape discourse. And yet, time and again, he has used his visibility to engage in behaviour that blurs the line between political criticism and racial incitement.
The attempt to excuse this latest episode with the claim that Mr Lineker “didn’t see” the rat emoji is not only pathetic — it is insulting to the intelligence of the public and offensive to every Jewish person who recognises this imagery for what it is: a dehumanising assault on Jewish identity, particularly through the demonisation of Zionism, the self-determination movement of the Jewish people.
His actions violate the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines, which require public figures associated with the broadcaster to refrain from disseminating content that could “bring the BBC into disrepute” or promote hate. Moreover, his conduct may breach Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, which prohibits the use of public communications networks to share “grossly offensive” content, and the Equality Act 2010, which protects religious communities from discrimination and harassment.
WBII demands the following, without delay:
- Immediate disciplinary action from the BBC, including removal from any upcoming public-facing programming.
- A public and unequivocal apology from Mr Lineker for his amplification of antisemitic imagery.
- Formal investigation by Ofcom into the BBC’s enforcement of impartiality and anti-discrimination standards.
- Referral to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to assess whether Lineker’s behaviour constitutes a criminal offence under UK law.
- Mandatory antisemitism awareness training for all BBC talent and executives, based on the IHRA definition, with particular focus on contemporary manifestations of antisemitism disguised as anti-Zionism.
Enough is enough.
This is not an isolated lapse. This is a pattern. Mr Lineker’s persistent targeting of Jewish national identity — while hiding behind the pretence of political expression — emboldens extremists, normalises antisemitism, and undermines the very principles the BBC claims to defend.
There is no room for equivocation. A man who cannot distinguish between advocacy and hate speech has no business representing a publicly funded institution.
We Believe in Israel stands with the Jewish community and every citizen who believes in decency, accountability, and truth. The time for apologies is over. The time for consequences is now.
