In a twist so shocking it stunned absolutely no one except the man himself, James O’Brien has found himself being publicly slow-roasted by the Zionist lobby—an outcome as inevitable as rain in a British summer or Nigel Farage discovering yet another “betrayal.”
The LBC presenter, known for his impassioned monologues, sanctimonious sighs, and ability to pronounce “objectivity” like it’s a rare and endangered virtue, decided—presumably in a lull between exhaling through his nose and congratulating himself—to read out a listener’s message. The content? A pointed critique of indoctrination and dehumanisation, allegedly taught to Jewish children in Hertfordshire, of all places. Because when we think of radicalisation hotspots, we naturally think Waitrose and Chabad.
To his apparent surprise, this provoked the fury of various Zionist organisations, the Spectator, and anyone who hasn’t heard the word “nuance” since GCSE English. Suddenly, a man who once explained war crimes in Palestine to a barista using only oat milk metaphors was being accused of—brace yourself—anti-Semitic blood libel.
Yes. That old chestnut. Dust it off, give it a polish, and lob it at anyone who says things like “maybe bombing hospitals is bad.”
Cancelled by the mob he nodded along with
The Board of Deputies, who are to Zionism what the DUP is to fun, demanded O’Brien be removed from the airwaves, presumably to be replaced by a sentient IDF press release.
It’s a tragic fate for a man who, just months ago, insisted Sangita Myska’s sudden disappearance from the LBC schedule was definitely nothing to do with her refusal to treat Israeli consulate strikes like a quirky foreign policy whoopsie.
O’Brien claimed she had “low listener numbers.” In the great tradition of public broadcasting, that number appears to be one—him.
But now the boot is, as they say, on the other incredulous foot. The same outrage machine that happily chucked Corbyn on the pyre for liking a Facebook post in 2007 has whirred back to life—only this time, the smell of burning is coming from James’s own sanctimony.
“Objectivity” meets “whoopsie daisy”
It would be charitable to say O’Brien has learned a lesson about the thin ice one walks when broadcasting anything that challenges the official line on Israel. But this is a man who once tried to explain the Palestinian Nakba by quoting Harry Potter, so “self-awareness” is probably still loading.
Upon realising he had poked a particularly loud and well-funded hornet’s nest, O’Brien issued a standard media non-apology—equal parts contrition, passive voice, and the implication that he’s too clever to really be wrong.
“I read it out in good faith,” he sighed, as though that faith wasn’t routinely rewarded with a barrage of absolutely predictable backlash.
Ah yes—good faith. That famously bulletproof defence in the court of “you’ve just upset The Lobby, mate.”
Thoughts and prayers for James’s mentions
Now he’s trending on Twitter (or whatever Elon’s calling it this week), and people who last read a book during the Gulf War are calling for his head on a metaphorical spike. He’s been denounced, dissected, and dropped like a hot potato wrapped in a Guardian editorial.
In conclusion, James O’Brien has done what every liberal media figure eventually does: flirted with the truth about Israel-Palestine and then acted shocked when the walls started closing in.
Thoughts and prayers, James. But next time, maybe don’t assume you can paddle into apartheid waters and come out dry.
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