Episode 20: Literary Fest Subverted by Zionists

First aired on 11 June 2022

In 2019, the Bradford Literature Festival was exposed as being funded by the British government's counter-extremism spy funding. This scandal led to a great number of acts pulling out of the so-called Muslim-led book festival.

Now, it has found itself in hot water again—this time with funding from the Israel lobby. The festival, which is targeted at the Muslim community, is promising this year to host a talk by a war criminal, propagandist, and insufferable liar Alastair Campbell.

However, a few of the funders listed in the festival program have more than raised eyebrows in the local community.

A key sponsor of the festival is none other than the Jewish Renaissance - an organization presided over by Israel lobbyist David Dangoor.

The Dangoor family website describes him as a "strong believer in strengthening UK-Israel ties and helps fund many initiatives that further these relations."

Dangoor is known to fund the Islamophobic Henry Jackson Society, the Israel lobby group Board of Deputies, the normalization operation Nisa-Nashim and the Jerusalem Foundation which builds in Israeli settlements including in Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah.

The board of Jewish Renaissance also features at least four figures from the Board of Deputies. The editorial advisory board of Jewish Renaissance also features Alex Brummer, the city editor of the Daily Mail simultaneous to chairing the Israeli regime-funded Abraham Initiatives and Vice-President of the Board of Deputies.

The 2020 Trustees Report for the Board of Deputies states that it has “a close working relationship with the Israeli embassy and strengthened links to the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs and the IDF.”

Another suspicious funder of the Bradford Literature Festival is Aspen Institute, which is led by the Crown family.

James S. Crown serves as the chairman of the board at the Aspen Institute, while his father Lester Crown was formerly vice chairman of the board, he remains a life trustee and is also on the Board of Overseers of the Henry Crown Fellowship Program of the institute.

Not only does the Crown family fund the Friends of the IDF and the settlement building Jewish National Fund but also the Jerusalem Foundation, where Lester Crown is also a director.

The Aspen Institute has hosted events for Ohad Zemet, the Spokesperson of the Israeli Embassy in the UK.The Aspen institute also features Idan Ofer as the Honorary Chair of the Middle East Strategy Group.

The Ofer family shipping company was revealed to be a front for Israeli intelligence as it carried out assassinations in Iran using his ships.

Another cultural partner is listed as the publisher Simon & Schuster.

In the past, the company has hosted writing workshops for the BLT and this year it is scheduled to deliver an advice workshop on getting work published for young aspiring writers.

Bradford Literature Festival is funded by Israel lobbyists, funders of settlements and the Israeli military and is platforming the key liar and propagandist for the invasion and occupation of Iraq.