OPINION: Why is the media ignoring Reginald Hunter’s antisemitic jibe?
Reporting on the comedian's anti-Israel remark and not his 'f****** Jews' comment feeds false claims that criticism of Israel is banned, writes Daniel Sugarman
I want to tell you a story, in four parts.
In part 1, a comedian, during his act, makes a repulsive comment about Israel, comparing it to an abusive wife herself accusing her husband of abuse.
In part 2, two Jewish people in the audience vocally take issue with that comment.
In part 3, many of the audience then verbally abuse the two Jewish people, saying, among other things, “genocidal maniac” and “you’re not welcome”. The two Jewish people leave.
In part 4, once those Jewish people leave, the comedian tells a “joke” featuring his partner, in which she says, about a Jewish newspaper, “Typical f—ing Jews, they won’t tell you anything unless you subscribe.”
This story is an account of what happened last Sunday evening at a performance by a comedian, Reginald D Hunter, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We know about it because the Telegraph’s Chief Theatre Critic, Dominic Cavendish, happened to be in the audience that night. His one-star review of the performance recounts all four parts of this unsavoury incident.
If you only heard parts 1 and 2, you might think to yourself “well, it’s certainly a joke in bad taste”. If you heard parts 1,2 and 3, you would, one would hope, be extremely disturbed by the behaviour of the audience, and consider it a shocking indictment of this country in the year 2024.
But I put it to you, without detracting for a second from the hideousness of what those Jewish people in the audience experienced, that it is part 4 which dispels any lingering doubt about what this story is – not one ultimately about Israel, but rather about Jews. The public comment by the organisation I work for, the Board of Deputies, made this clear, saying that “the initial jibe at Israel then being followed by a line about f***ing Jews exposes, yet again, the true sentiments behind so much of the ‘anti-Israel’ movement.”
It is for that reason that the subsequent response from parts of the media has been so telling. Because, for reasons known only to themselves, a significant number of news outlets decided to leave out part 4 of the story.
“Reginald D Hunter at centre of antisemitism storm after Israeli couple ‘branded genocidal by Fringe hecklers’” shouted the Independent, which quoted Dominic Cavendish, but saw fit not to mention the “f***ing Jews comment”. I contacted the Independent myself, expressing incredulity that they had missed out an integral part of the story. I was told that this had been passed on to the “relevant editors” and “they should get back to you asap.” That was on Tuesday. I am writing this on Friday, without having heard anything further. STV News, Sky News, And now, with tiresome predictability, our national broadcaster has done the same. A BBC piece is headlined “Theatre cancels Reginald D Hunter show after antisemitism claims”, and makes no mention whatsoever of the “typical f***ing Jews line” – despite an earlier BBC story which did mention that point.
The omission of part 4 of the story is important, because it feeds into an insidious claim present in British society, best known as the Livingstone Formulation, a term coined by Dr David Hirsh to describe it. At its essence, the Livingstone Formulation (named after former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone) claims that Jews attempt to stifle any criticism of Israel by claiming that any such criticism is antisemitic. This formulation is used on a regular basis by the many people whose language relating to Israel goes well beyond “anti-Zionism” and instead draws on the most repugnant antisemitism imaginable.
In the coming weeks and months, people will use those news articles which provided the condensed story – without part 4 – as an example of how Jews cry antisemitism and managed to get a show cancelled simply because the comedian dared to criticise Israel. It will be cited as yet another example of the supposed taboo around criticizing Israel – despite the fact that the very people claiming the existence of such a taboo seem to never shut up about Israel. It is a perfect example of misinformation by omission. Hunter has, in the last 48 hours, shared a variety of hideous posts on Twitter, including comments like “Zionists are truly the forever victims in their own minds but constant perpetrators in reality”, and “You believe in the Talmud. It justifies abhorrent behaviour”.[1] This is not a comedian who has been driven to hatred because of the treatment he has received. This is a comedian who spewed hatred, met an angry response and has doubled and tripled down on his bigotry.
It is not too late. The publications in question could add to their stories and make it clear that they have done so. Whether they will do this remains to be seen. But their readers deserve to know the whole story – unabridged.
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