By, Marcus Dysch
2 min read
ByMarcus Dysch, Marcus Dysch
The Jewish student whose question led to angry scenes on last night’s BBC Question Time programme featuring George Galloway has revealed that the atmosphere was far more hostile than seen on television.
Viewers saw Gabriel Rosen pose the final question to the panel which led to 20 minutes of raucous debate.
He asked: “Why is antisemitism rising in the UK and does a certain member of the panel bear some responsibility?”
As Respect MP Mr Galloway prepared to answer, audience members in Finchley, north-west London, shouted: “You’re not welcome here.”
The controversial politician responded: “Am I on trial here? Zionism and Israel are different things from Judaism and Jewishness.”
The subsequent panel comments covered issues relating to the Community Security Trust annual figures on antisemitism, the Holocaust, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mr Galloway, who refuses to debate with Israelis, appeared in the parliamentary constituency with the country’s largest Jewish population.
Mr Rosen, from north west London, explained how he had the chance to ask the question.
“They say you can submit a few questions by email and when you get there. Just before I went in I had a hunch, so I wrote down mine and gave them it,” he said.
“They picked out a few people before the show and they said I could ask mine. But I added the bit at the end about George Galloway. They did not know about that.”
Presenter David Dimbleby had attempted to cut away before Mr Rosen’s reference to the panelists.
“I thought it was necessary to ask,” Mr Rosen told the JC. “Most of the audience were there to see George Galloway and to see what happened.
“The first 45 minutes had been a bit boring. I was not nervous. We were ready for it and I had been waiting.
“It actually looked less heated on TV than it was in the auditorium. It was very raucous in the studio. There were bits where Galloway was completely drowned out.
“When he talked about the Holocaust there were lots of comments from the audience at that point. Some of the microphones were turned down when they came to broadcast it.”
Mr Rosen, a philosophy student, said the atmosphere had been tense before filming began at the Arts Depot centre in Finchley.
“Before they start filming they have a practise round to make sure everything is working ok, the sound and cameras and so on. People booed and hissed when Galloway was introduced. You could sense what was coming.”
After the Bradford West MP’s planned appearance was announced by the BBC last week, Finchley and Golders Green MP Mike Freer said the decision to include Mr Galloway on the panel was “deliberately provocative”.
Mr Rosen said: “It was obvious what was going to be the main feature of the show. That’s why the BBC did it. they knew why they were coming and what they were doing.”
Mr Galloway has used his Twitter account to claim he was the victim of a “lynch mob”. He encouraged his supporters to call the BBC and complain about the treatment he received.
