At a Belgian festival, Piker says critics have repeated the argument they attacked him for
Hasan PikerPolitical streamer and commentator, in an onstage conversation with Peter Mertens at the ManiFiesta festival in Ostend, Belgium
Asked by moderator Line De Witte, during an onstage conversation with Belgian Workers' Party leader Peter Mertens at the ManiFiesta festival, why it is wrong to call him antisemitic, Piker said that conflating Zionism and Judaism makes Jews less safe, and that some of the people who attacked him in the United States for saying this had since repeated the same point.
Responding to
Piker’s wording encouraged or justified violence against American Jews.
“This is something that even Zionists themselves at times acknowledge, including people who have, in the United States of America, attacked me for saying exactly those words in the past. They themselves have repeated it.”
Original video
Where this statement fits
Hasan Piker’s August 20 remarks and Larry Klayman’s lawsuit
Hasan Piker’s August 20 remarks about American Jews and Israel prompted disagreement over whether he was warning about antisemitic violence or implicitly threatening Jews. Larry Klayman later filed a civil lawsuit seeking more than $150 million over the remarks.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
Video of a 75-minute onstage conversation between Hasan Piker and Peter Mertens, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Belgium (PVDA-PTB), recorded live on September 12, 2026 at the ManiFiesta festival in Ostend and moderated by Line De Witte, according to the video's description. The description says Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken had suggested before the festival that the new law against glorifying terrorism could be applied to it, naming Piker. Published on Mertens's YouTube channel on September 14. Wording was checked against the audio and the published captions.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Days before the September 12 event, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken had suggested that Belgium's new law against glorifying terrorism could be applied to the festival and its guests, naming Piker. Moderator Line De Witte noted that critics call Piker antisemitic and asked him to explain to the audience why that is wrong. In his answer Piker said he opposes bigotry including antisemitism, called Francken a bigot, and said that forcibly merging Zionism and Judaism "foments and creates more anti-Semitism and makes Jews less safe."
After the quotation
He cited Dana Bash telling Benjamin Netanyahu that his actions had made Jews less safe, called that "an established fact," and said it was "distasteful and also dangerous" when people conflate the two concepts. The conversation took place two days after Larry Klayman filed his lawsuit; this passage concerns the antisemitism charge, not the suit.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Piker's August 20 remarks about American Jews and Israel and whether they warned about antisemitic danger or implied a threat. Piker restates the warning reading and disputes the critics' interpretation, so we labeled it Challenged the characterization, as with his earlier responses in this case. Defended or excused is the closest alternative, but he does not argue that any conduct under scrutiny was justified; he rejects the antisemitism charge and restates what he says he meant. Evidence level: the published video of the conversation, checked by ear and against captions; the event details come from the video's description.
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- At a Belgian festival, Piker says critics have repeated the argument they attacked him for
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The Dispute Index. "At a Belgian festival, Piker says critics have repeated the argument they attacked him for". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4832-asked-by-moderator-line-de-witte-during-an