Pro-Palestinian protest – or, more accurately, anti-Israel hatred – has reached new depths of cruelty with the victimisation of an innocent high-profile target: the comedian Jimmy Carr.
Carr’s offence? Attending, along with several hundred other guests, an event marking Israel’s 77th anniversary, which was held at the British Museum last week. (The British Museum has not got off lightly either, with howls of faux shock and disgust hurled against it and calls for withdrawals of memberships).
The first hint of troublemaking came when some bizarre sounding group – Energy Embargo for Palestine – called on social media for a protest against a “secret Israeli event” at the museum after the location got leaked. I was one of the guests invited to this prestigious annual independence day celebration. There was nothing “secret” about it, other than the sad fact that its whereabouts, like most Jewish communal events these days, had to be kept discreet for safety reasons.
On the night, the police - required as usual in large numbers because of the risk of violence from protesters - were there, keeping noisy demonstrators confined to a side street, where a keffiyah-clad rabble chanted along to the tedious refrain of “Free free Palestine!” Two streets away - also behind police lines - was a reassuring sea of blue and white flags of supporters, dancing and clapping to Jewish and Israeli songs in a festival-like atmosphere. Neither could be heard inside the museum, as guests - political figures, diplomats, communal representatives, journalists, broadcasters, Jews and non-Jews - mingled and met.
As in previous years, there were many well-known faces present, and I was pleasantly surprised to spot Jimmy Carr amongst them. I decided to introduce myself and told him how lovely it was to see him there. Carr immediately struck me as warm, friendly and down to earth, and we had a very enjoyable conversation. He was not political - which he could have been - and simply expressed support for the Jewish community.
At a terrible time like this for Jewish people like me, Carr’s demonstration of compassion and humaneness made a deep impression. I can imagine plenty of other comedians at a Nakba event who would not hold back from political commentary, with or without a glass of wine or two - but Carr was dignified and authentic.
That was that - until afterwards, when I was shocked and appalled to see that he, after his attendance had become known, was being picked on in the most vicious way by the hate-fuelled mob who have crawled out from under their stone in this country since the events of October 7 2023.
“How disgusting that the British Museum would host Israel’s Nazi ambassador Tzipi Hotovely to celebrate the expulsion of 800,000 Palestinians in 1948,” observed one account on X with 133,000 followers.
“Turns out the unfunny millionaire ‘comedian’ Jimmy Carr is also a Nazi sympathiser too.”
Another posted a meme of Carr with a Magen David symbol and the words “Owned by murderers. We will not forget", and an ominous statement to followers: “You know what to do”.
Another still - with a video clip showing Carr being hounded as he walked down the street after leaving the venue - said: “Jimmy Carr helped turn the British Museum - a symbol of stolen history - into a stage for apartheid,” accusing him of “hosting” the event.
I can say for a fact that Carr did not host the event any more than I did - but since when did facts matter to the anti-Israel movement? The attacks on Carr have continued to come thick and fast, including now a campaign to have his upcoming performances in Scotland cancelled - amplified by a story in the Scottish newspaper The National, a publication known for its editorial hostility towards Israel. There is a campaign to have Carr cancelled altogether, to ruin his career, in the same way that some appalling public figures have become disgraced through actual wrongdoing in recent years.
The whole of it is absolutely disgusting. The anti-Israel movement - saturated as we know with antisemites - has gone for Jimmy Carr with the same vacuous mob mentality of a medieval witch-hunt, and it is sickening. I hope Carr has the nerve - which I am sure he does - to ignore the lot of them. Jimmy - thank you for attending. The Jewish community greatly appreciates the fact that you were among us. Hold your head high - your brilliance, wit and dignity outshines all the thugs stirring the hate, and this horrible moment will pass.
By a veteran journalist with a national broadcaster, who asked not to be identified
