From Britain’s ban on Hasan Piker to Germany’s crackdown on Palestine solidarity, Varoufakis and Piker discuss censorship, power and resistance

When British authorities barred political commentator Hasan Piker from entering the UK, claiming his presence was “not conducive to the public good”, it was obviously not an isolated controversy. It was yet another example of how Western governments are increasingly willing to abandon their own so-called democratic principles when it comes to Palestine, something that Piker has felt the impact of.

Joining Yanis Varoufakis in a livestream hosted by Mehran Khalili, Piker reflected on the ban, Britain’s political climate, Germany’s crackdown on Palestine solidarity, and the wider crisis facing liberal democracies.

The decision to be banned from the UK marked a turning point for Piker: “I had a lot more confidence in liberal democracy and European countries safeguarding liberal democracy in spite of everything that I had seen over the past three years. But I no longer have that confidence at all.”

He contrasted Britain’s long history of offering refuge to dissidents and controversial thinkers with the treatment now faced by those who oppose Israel’s assault on Gaza.

“It’s shocking when you think about the history of the United Kingdom and what kind of subversive and radical thinkers the British government has in the past offered shelter to, in comparison to people that simply oppose Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians.”

Varoufakis responded that the ban merely exposed a reality many had long ignored.

“You owe a debt of gratitude to the British government because it saved you from this delusion regarding Europe’s liberalism. It’s a delusion that a lot of us used to have.”

The discussion repeatedly returned to the narrowing boundaries of acceptable speech. Piker noted the irony that many self-described defenders of free speech remained silent when censorship targeted critics of Israel.

“A lot of people who had made careers off defending free speech turned around and celebrated the decision of the Labour government. Instead of defending the principle of free speech, they said: ‘You deserve this ban.’”

The conversation also explored how accusations of antisemitism are increasingly weaponised against critics of Israeli policy. Recalling a previous appearance at the Oxford Union, which he had been scheduled to revisit before the ban, Piker warned against conflating Judaism with Zionism.

“One of the biggest dangers is the false conflation between Judaism and Zionism. If criticism of Israel is treated as antisemitism, it only creates more antisemitism and more antisemitic conspiracy theories.”

Both argued that Palestinians are routinely denied the empathy afforded to others. “Arabs are collateralised,” Piker said. “Palestinians are treated as subhuman.”

Varoufakis agreed, describing a double standard deeply rooted in colonial history.

“The outrage against Hitler was primarily because he treated Europeans as colonial powers had treated colonised peoples elsewhere. They had no problem with what was happening in the Congo or Algeria. But not to white European Christians.”

The discussion then turned to Germany, where Varoufakis was banned in 2024 after helping organise the Palestine Congress in Berlin. He argued that the authorities were particularly alarmed by the presence of Jewish anti-Zionist organisers.

“The co-organisers of that conference were Jews. German Jews. One of them was holding a placard saying ‘Jews Against Genocide’ and he was beaten up by police.

“They were essentially banning me to get at the Jews who did not support genocide. Insufficient support of genocide is an outrageous crime today in liberal Europe.”

The pair also examined the geopolitical foundations of Western support for Israel. Varoufakis pointed to colonial history and strategic interests.

“Israel is not doing anything different to what Europe was doing two or three hundred years ago. It’s white settler colonialism, except it’s happening long after settler colonialism was supposed to have ended.”

Piker agreed, arguing that Israel’s influence cannot be understood separately from its strategic role within Western power structures.

“Israel has been afforded an unprecedented level of access and influence because it has been such an important aspect of colonial expansion and Western interests in a resource-rich region.”

Yet despite the bleak picture, the conversation ended on a note of cautious optimism. Asked about organising in the United States, Piker argued that a new generation is becoming increasingly politicised and willing to challenge established institutions.

“There is an insurgent movement brewing from within the ranks of the Democratic Party. They’re terrified of it. That’s part of the reason why I’ve become the target of so many attacks.”

As governments across Europe and North America continue to crack down on Palestine solidarity, the discussion suggested that the issue has become about far more than Gaza alone. It has become a test of whether liberal democracies will uphold the freedoms they claim to defend, or whether those freedoms stop where support for Palestine begins.