Cultural Antisemitism: Jewish Comedians Dropped From UK Arts Festival Due to Israel Support

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.