Maureen Lipman: ‘Shame on Jewish boycotters’
Actress Maureen Lipman this week criticised Jewish artists for backing a cultural boycott of Israel, after an open letter signed by more than 100 people was published in The Guardian newspaper.
In an initiative known as Artists for Palestine, signatories said they would “not engage in business-as-usual cultural relations with Israel” and that they would stay away for concerts, awards ceremonies, exhibitions, festivals and conferences.
Together with well-known Jewish critics of Israel, such as comedians Ivor Dembina and Alexei Sayle, there were several lesser-known names, such as Alisa Lebow, a documentary maker whose film Treyf explored her life as a Jewish lesbian. Folk music singer and children’s author Leon Rosselson, from north London, is also featured on the list, together with anti-apartheid activist and renowned architect Peter Ahrends, whose family fled Nazism in Berlin in the 1930s.
Get The Jewish News Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up
Lipman dismissed the boycotters for making a “belated, theatrical gesture at a time when anti-Semitism – based on extremist hatred of the Jewish state – shows neither timing, respect or understanding for the real problems of the Middle East”. She concluded: “Shame on the whole raddled bunch of them.”
Others putting their name to the letter have covered the subject of Israel in their work. London-based filmmaker and photographer Haim Bresheeth has written about the Holocaust and the Gaza blockade, while fellow signatory Peter Kosminsky produced Channel 4 drama series The Promise, which looked at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of two Britons.
Some names are recognisable campaigners, including Ann Jungman, a children’s author who has long been involved with Jews for Justice for Palestinians and Independent Jewish Voices.
Actress Miriam Margolyes said: “My support for the Palestinian cause is fiercer because I’m Jewish. The Israeli forces’ lack of humanity disgusts me. I want no part of it. We were fed a lie about the foundation of Israel.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
-
By Brigit Grant
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
-
By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)