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BBC Removes Miriam Margolyes Comment About ‘Jewish and Vile’ Dickens Character From Radio Program
Miriam Margolyes. Photo: YouTube screenshot
The BBC said on Wednesday that it edited out a comment by Jewish actress Miriam Margolyes about the fictional Charles Dickens character Fagin being “Jewish and vile” from a recording of the BBC Radio 4 show “Front Row.”
The British-Australian actress, who is best known for playing Professor Sprout in the “Harry Potter” film franchise, made the comment on Tuesday while discussing her one-woman show “Margolyes & Dickens: The Best Bits” during a live talk at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. When “Front Row” host Kristy Wark asked Margolyes, 83, who was “the first Dickens character that stuck in your head as a child,” she quickly replied, “Oh, Fagin. Without question. Jewish and vile.”
Her response elicited laughter from the audience. Margolyes then added, “I didn’t know Jews like that then — sadly I do now.”
The BBC told the UK’s Jewish News on Wednesday night: “This was an unexpected comment made during a live broadcast which should have been challenged at the time. We have taken swift action to remove it from the program and it is no longer available.”
In the edited version of the “Front Row” episode, Margolyes is heard saying Fagin in response to Wark’s question, but the recording then skips to the actress saying, “I [was] just magic-ed by the passion of him, the wickedness and the humor.”
Fagin was the villainous Jewish character in Dickens’ novel “Oliver Twist.” Dickens described him as a cruel, ugly, and manipulative old man who teaches young children to be pickpockets and robbers so he can exploit them and profit off of what they steal. Fagin is repeatedly referred to as “the Jew” throughout the book.
Margolyes’ comment on the “Front Row” radio show was condemned by social media users, including former BBC News journalist Sarah Deech. “This is plain and ugly racism, from a woman who’s given a pass because apparently she is a ‘national treasure,’” Deech wrote in a post on X. “The fact Margolyes is herself Jewish is not the get out of jail free card you think it is.”
During “Margolyes & Dickens: The Best Bits” at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the actress focuses on the works of Dickens and “brings to life the most colorful and iconic characters from his timeless novels,” according to a description provided by the festival. She’ll also do a Q&A with the live audience. The show, which is “guaranteed to offend and delight,” will take place on Thursday.
Margolyes has been a vocal critic of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip responsible for the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel. She has also advocated for a ceasefire to end the Israel-Hamas war. In April, she said Israeli military actions during the war have left her “so ashamed of Israel.”
“To me, it seems as if Hitler has won,” she added. “He’s changed us Jews from being compassionate and caring and do unto others as you would have them do unto you into this vicious, genocidal nationalist nation, pursuing and killing women and children.”
In 2014, Margolyes told Radio Times: “I don’t think people like Jews. They never have. English literature, my great love, is full of greasy and treacherous Jews.”
“I’m lucky they like me, and one always needs a Jewish accountant,” she added. “Antisemitism is horrible and can’t be defended, but Israel is stupid for allowing people to vent [about] it.” She also claimed that Israel’s defensive military actions against the US-designated terrorist group Hamas were “unacceptable.”
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French Police Arrest Man Suspected of Attempted Arson Against Synagogue
French police stand guard after cars were set on fire in front of the city’s synagogue, in La Grande-Motte, France, August 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Manon Cruz
French police have arrested a man suspected of trying to set a synagogue ablaze in the southern French city of la Grande-Motte on Saturday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
About 200 police officers had been hunting for the suspect, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said earlier, adding that the attacker had set fire to several entry doors to the synagogue and several cars nearby.
BFM TV said the suspect was a 33-year-old Algerian. Local police declined to give details.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office, which was put in charge of the investigation, said early on Sunday that a suspect had been arrested in Nîmes on Saturday evening.
“Before the police could intervene, (the suspect) opened fire on the (police), which returned fire. The man was wounded in the face,” the office said in a statement, adding that two other people were taken into custody.
A policeman was slightly injured when a gas bottle exploded as police secured the site of the attack on Saturday morning, Attal said.
“This is an antisemitic attack. Once more, our Jewish compatriots are targeted,” Attal said on X. “In the face of antisemitism, in the face of violence, we will never allow ourselves to be intimidated.”
After visiting the synagogue, Attal said an “absolute tragedy” had been narrowly averted after firefighters and police arrived quickly at the scene.
Local media reported earlier that the suspect had set fire to two cars, one of which contained at least one gas bottle, in the synagogue’s parking area at about 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT).
Police protection of synagogues, and Jewish schools and shops would be stepped up across France, the government said.
France, like other countries in Europe, has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s retaliatory action in Gaza.
Le Parisien, franceinfo and other media said the suspect had been seen on CCTV shortly before the attack with a Palestinian flag tied round his waist.
“Exploding a gas bottle in a car in front of the Grande Motte synagogue at the expected time of arrival of the faithful: it’s not just attacking a place of worship, it’s an attempt to kill Jews,” Yonathan Arfi, who leads the CRIF, an umbrella organization of French Jewish groups, said on X.
La Grande-Motte is a port and resort city on the French Mediterranean coast.
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‘First Phase’ of Attack Against Israel is ‘Over,’ Hezbollah Declares, Amid Fears of Regional War
Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters through a screen during a rally commemorating the annual Hezbollah Martyrs’ Day, in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Photo: Reuters/Aziz Taher
i24 News – A Hezbollah official said on Sunday that the jihadist group does not wish that its rocket and drone attack against Israel early in the morning should trigger a regional war and, as far as it is concerned, the “first phase” of the attack is over.
The official said the group took time to retaliate for the assassination of top commander Fuad Shukr last month due to “political considerations,” chiefly the ongoing talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal for the Gaza Strip.
The terrorist did not elaborate as to why the group decided to launch its attack despite the still-ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
The official stressed the Shiite militia had “worked” to make sure its response to the July 30 assassination would not trigger a full-scale war.
Hezbollah launched over 320 rockets & drones at Israel, responding to the killing of terrorist Fuad Shukr
But before the strike, the IDF preemptively hit thousands of rocket launchers in Lebanon
Here is everything you need to know, including the latest safety instructions: pic.twitter.com/FyHik3aeIz
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) August 25, 2024
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Syrian President Says Efforts to Restore Ties with Turkey Have Yielded No Results
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad speaks to the Syrian parliament in Damascus, Syria August 25, 2024. Photo: SANA/Handout via REUTERS
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that efforts to mend ties with Turkey had so far brought no tangible results.
“The initiatives did not yield any results worth mentioning despite the seriousness and genuine keenness of mediators,” Assad said in a speech to the Syrian parliament, referring to conciliation efforts by Russia, Iran and Iraq.
Turkey severed ties with Syria in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, in which it supported rebels seeking to oust Assad. Assad views the rebels as terrorists.
“The solution is openness,” Assad said. “Restoring a relationship requires first removing the causes that led to its destruction.”
The Syrian president made clear that while he wants Turkish troops to withdraw from Syria, that was not a precondition for talks.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said earlier in July he would extend an invitation to Assad “any time” for possible talks to restore relations.
A Turkish newspaper earlier reported Erdogan and Assad could meet in August, but a Turkish diplomat denied the report.
Russia has been trying to facilitate a meeting between the two leaders in an effort to restore ties. Iraq also said in July that it may seek to try to bring the two leaders together.
The post Syrian President Says Efforts to Restore Ties with Turkey Have Yielded No Results first appeared on Algemeiner.com.