Glastonbury cancels screening of 'Oh, Jeremy Corbyn, The Big Lie' documentary after Jewish groups accuse film of pushing anti-Semitic conspiracy theory

Glastonbury Festival has pulled the documentary Oh, Jeremy Corbyn, The Big Lie from his film program after Jewish groups accused him of advancing an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory as to why the politician never became British Prime Minister.

The decision, which prompted a backlash from Corbyn supporters, comes six years only after the politician was greeted by a rock star at the festival when he addressed a crowd of 50,000 in 2017.

The documentary, produced by London-based activist production house Platform Films, was due to screen at Glastonbury's Pilton Tente cinema Palais as part of a program that also includes The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Spider-Man: Across The Spider Verse as well as classics such as Withnail and Me.

The film challenges allegations of anti-Semitism within the Labor Party under Corbyn's leadership, which would ultimately lead to him being suspended as a member in 2020 after he refused to retract his statement that the scale of the problem had been exaggerated by opponents.

In a description on its website, Platform Films states that the work "explores a dark and obscure political deception and outrageous anti-Semitic libel."

Reported by comedian and actor Alexei Sayle, interviewees include political activist Jackie Walker, who was expelled from Labor in 2019 for anti-Semitic remarks; filmmaker Ken Loach and Israeli anti-Zionist activist Moshe Machover.

Jewish groups have expressed concern about the film and the conspiracy theory at its heart and began lobbying Glastonbury to cancel its scheduled screening when it turned out to be part of the festival's film lineup.

"Stalwart supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are determined to peddle the false myth that the only reason why he is not the Prime Minister is that a plot orchestrated by the Israeli Embassy would have invented a host of stories about anti-Semitism within the Labor Party, “said the Jewish group CST (Community Security Trust ) in a release.

"It is this claim that is a big lie, and it denies and insults the very real harassment and abuse suffered by many members of the Jewish Labor Party during this time, while reinforcing anti-Semitic stereotypes. The idea that this appalling film is going to be screened at the Glastonbury Festival, which prides itself on being anti-racist, is a disgrace, and the decision to show it should be reversed."

At the heart of the criticism is a silent montage visually suggesting that Jewish groups, including the Jewish Council MPs, the Jewish Labor Movement, Labor Friends of Israel and the Israel Defense Movement were involved in an "orchestrated campaign" against Corbyn.

Prominent journalist and left-wing political commentator Paul Mason, a former Marxist and Corbyn supporter, also did part of those campaigning against the screening in an article titled "The Big Lie film: Glastonbury should not screen Corbyn conspiracy theories".

He wrote of the clip: "As a professional filmmaker, I recognize this presentation without words of a controversial idea not as an accident but as a technique: using captions and images to state what, if said aloud, could be accused of anti-Semitism."

Responding to the backlash, Glastonbury announced it was pulling the film on Monday night.

"Although we believe that the Pilton Palace booked this film in good faith, in the hope to provoke debate, it has become clear that it is not appropriate for us to screen it at the Festival,” the event wrote.

"Glastonbury ...