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Cultural Antisemitism: Jewish Comedians Dropped From UK Arts Festival Due to Israel Support
Performers at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024. Photo: Andrew Wilson/EEm/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Two Jewish comedians had their shows cancelled from a major arts and culture festival in the city of Edinburgh in Scotland because of their pro-Israel views along with “safety concerns” expressed by staff members at the venues.
Philip Simon was set to perform his solo show “Shall I Compere Thee in a Funny Way?” at the venue Banshee Labyrinth as part of the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which runs from Aug. 1-25. But on Saturday, he was told that the venue has cancelled his show due to the fact that his “views concerning the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine … are in significant conflict with our venue’s stance against the current Israeli government’s policy and actions,” according to Simon.
“We feel it is inappropriate for us to provide a platform for performers whose views and actions align with the rhetoric and symbology of groups associated with humanitarian violations,” the venue further explained in a statement to the comedy website Chortle. They expressed concerns with Simon’s pro-Israel statements and opinions on X, formerly known as Twitter. They cited specific tweets, which include a recap of a pro-Israel rally that Simon attended and support for the hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Simon said in a statement on social media that he has “never expressed support for anything other than freeing the hostages and finding a way for peace.”
“It is sad to think that these views could conflict with anyone who wants to see a lasting peace in Gaza and Israel,” he added.
Late last week, Simon’s comedy variety show “Jew-O-Rama,” which features Jewish and non-Jewish comedians, was also cancelled from the Edinburgh Festival by Whistle Binkies, the venue scheduled to host the show. Jewish comedian, writer and director Rachel Creeger was set to perform her solo show “Ultimate Jewish Mother” at the same venue as part of the festival, but her show was also cancelled.
Neither of the shows are about Israel or politics. Simon has been doing his show for nine years and five times at Whistle Binkies. This year would have marked Creeger’s third year performing “Ultimate Jewish Mother” at Whistle Binkies. She is the only practicing orthodox Jewish woman on the comedy circuit in the United Kingdom, according to her bio on Instagram. She wrote in an op-ed for Jewish News that Whistle Binkies has been supportive in the past and even told her last year: “We’ll look after you, no one messes with OUR Jews.”
Creeger and Simon both claimed that their Edinburgh Festival shows were cancelled because staff at the venue complained about security concerns and not feeling safe if the venue hosted the two acts. Managers at Whistle Binkies “have cited bar staff discomfort at hosting Jewish shows,” according to an explanation shared on the Facebook page for the podcast “Jew Talkin’ To Me?” which Simon and Creeger co-host.
“When it comes to safety, they said they felt that the extra safety precautions that many Jewish performers are subject to at the moment, due to rising antisemitism, made them feel, ironically, more unsafe,” Creeger told Times Radio on Sunday. “They also cited that they had increased graffiti in the venue since having us, which they found threatening, we’re not sure why – we certainly weren’t the people creating the graffiti.”
“I am still processing the concept that in 2025 I can be cancelled just for being Jewish,” Simon said on Sunday in response to two of his shows being cancelled by the Edinburgh Festival. He hopes to find alternative venues for both of his cancelled shows and asked supporters to not boycott the venues because “they are hosting some incredible acts who I wouldn’t want to suffer negatively because of this.”
Outage from fellow comedians, politicians and pro-Israel groups has been escalating since the cancellation of the comedy shows.
“That is a shocking state of affairs,” Shadow Scotland Secretary Andrew Bowie told Times Radio. “Everybody should be welcome to this country, regardless of their faith, regardless of where they’ve come from, to perform at the Edinburgh festival or anywhere else for that matter.”
The organization UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) said on Sunday it has written to the Whistle Binkies, informing them that its decision to cancel Simon and Creeger’s shows are in breach of the Equality Act 2010 if they are being discriminated against based on the protected characteristics of race, religion and belief. “This is classic antisemitism, even if it is dressed up as safety fears,” said a UKLFI spokesperson.
Simon’s children’s show at the Edinburgh Festival – “School’s Out Comedy Club” – is still scheduled to move forward as planned.
The post Cultural Antisemitism: Jewish Comedians Dropped From UK Arts Festival Due to Israel Support first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.