"send this European problem back to f*****g Europe.”
Channel 4 has been accused of “sanitising” the “anti-Semitic” views of ex-Apprentice contestant Bushra Shaikh, who features in a new immigration-based reality show.
Bushra is in the show Go Back To Where You Came From, which features four people with anti-immigration views and two with pro-immigration attitudes recreating migrant routes from Somalia and Syria.
She is one of the pro-immigration campaigners and says she is “not the person you want to have these ridiculous racist and Islamophobic conversations with”.
Channel 4 has been accused of “sanitising” her views after the emergence of several offensive posts about Israel, including one which appeared to celebrate the October 7 attacks.
Shortly after the attack, Bushra Shaikh wrote:
“Palestinians have done more in 5 minutes than Zelensky has done with 75bn. Humiliation is an understatement.”
In a post that came a week after the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks, Bushra said:
“One state solution. Palestine. And send this European problem back to f*****g Europe.”
Bushra described Jews who moved from Europe to Israel as “the biggest charlatans on this planet” and a “bunch of lying scumbags”.
She has also said: “European Jews changed their names to hide their origins in order to claim supremacy over Palestinian Arab lands.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitisim (CAA) claimed Channel 4 was portraying Bushra Shaikh in a more favourable light despite her controversial views.
It said: “Channel 4’s agenda here is pretty clear: pit anti-immigration xenophobes against virtuous pro-immigration activists.
“If Channel 4 is showing the unvarnished views of one side, why not do the same for the other?
“Channel 4 is sanitising Bushra Shaikh to make her more sympathetic, instead of revealing her as the hypocrite that she is, speaking in favour of immigration while insulting ‘European Jews’.
“Channel 4’s insistence that Ms Shaikh remains in the programme while hiding her real opinions from viewers is telling.
“Portraying those with anti-Semitic views as virtuous while hiding their anti-Semitism is the exact opposite of what we should be doing: exposing and ostracising.”
Meet Bushra…. #GoBackToWhereYouCameFrom pic.twitter.com/nBlZCOjshB
— Channel 4 (@Channel4) January 30, 2025
Bushra, who appeared on The Apprentice in 2017, has posted numerous controversial tweets in the past.
In 2020, she tweeted that homosexuality was seen as “unnatural and immoral” in Islam before seemingly comparing homosexuality to paedophilia.
She said: “Nobody is born gay. It is a choice. Nobody is born a paedo either right?
“Feelings do not determine that which is right to do. Both are wrong.”
Channel 4 told the CAA: “Bushra is a contributor on Go Back To Where You Came From, and is one of the six opinionated individuals who, throughout the series, discuss immigration and have their differing viewpoints challenged.
“The series will be compliant with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. Channel 4 is not responsible for contributors’ personal social media accounts.
“Within the programme, all strong views expressed by contributors are challenged.
“Outside of the programme, the responsibility for social media posts lies with the individual.”
Bushra Shaikh has called the anti-Semitism accusations “baseless”, with her spokesperson saying:
“Sending Israelis ‘back to Europe’ was satire, in response to her being told to go back to Pakistan. Saying Israelis is not saying Jews. We must see the difference.
“Bushra is not homophobic, she is a Muslim and follows the belief that sodomy is a sin.
“However, this is no excuse that the gay community be subject to abuse and a minority group be protected. Both things can be true at the same time.
“The claim of comparing it to paedophilia is untrue, being gay and a paedophile are two very different things.
“In relation to Salwan Momika, Bushra never supports or condones murder and it is awful that he was killed – the law must never be taken into one’s own hands.
“However, she stands firmly with her opinion that the public desecration of any holy religious scripture be seen as a hate crime and these individuals should ‘face consequences’ within the framework of the law.”