An Open Letter to Stephen Fry whose 'Alternative' Xmas Message on 'Antisemitism' Flew in the Face of Everything He Once Stood For

Fry's Message Was an Embrace of the British Establishment’s Support for Genocide in Gaza under the Pretext of Opposition to Antisemitism

Stephen Fry’s Xmas Message on Behalf of the British Establishment

Dear Stephen,

As you are all too aware, ‘anti-Semitism’ is the standard defence, the only defence, that Israel has for its genocide and sadism in Gaza today. ‘Anti-Semitism’ is the stock response to torture, imprisonment and abuse of Palestinian children and the creation of a state which Netanyahu boasts is a state, not for all its citizens but only those who are Jewish.

When I refer to sadism I mean things like Israel’s removal of anaesthetics from aid lorries resulting in over 1,000 Palestinian children having to undergo amputations without anaesthetic. This is what your ‘Alternative’ Xmas Message was condoning.

Fortunately we were privileged to have a genuine Alternative to the Establishment’s Xmas that you delivered and it was by a fellow Jewish comedian, Alexei Sayle.

 Alexei had a few choice words for you and it is this that I am pleased to publish. As an aside you mentioned how, as a Gay man attitudes in Britain, especially amongst those you hang out with, have improved immeasurably in the past 25 years. I wonder whether the radicalism that was engendered all those years ago led you to support the Palestinians whereas acceptance by the Establishment of your sexuality has resulted in you turning your back on the oppressed.

As Caitline Johnson writesconcerning the ‘anti-Semitism’ smear against those who oppose Israeli war crimes:

If I saw someone murdering a child, there are many things I might say and do, but the very last thing that would ever occur to me would be to wonder what religion he is. It’s the silliest, most nonsensical narrative in mainstream politics and media today.

Your ‘new’ anti-Semitism has nothing to do with traditional anti-Semitism. Its sole concern is about defending Israel – right or wrong.

Anti-Semitism historically was hostility, prejudice or discrimination against Jews. In 2005 a campaign was launched by Israeli and Zionist academics to redefine anti-Semitism as anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel. The resulting was the IHRA misdefinition of anti-Semitism, a definition which anti-Semites like Victor Orban of Hungary supports.

When Stephen Fry was an Anti-Racist

In February 2007 you signed the Founding Statement of Independent Jewish Voices. You were number 217 on the list of signatories, I was number 259. A total of 735 Jews signed the declaration which said:

1.Human rights are universal and indivisible and should be upheld without exception. This is as applicable in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories as it is elsewhere....

5.The battle against anti-Semitism is vital and is undermined whenever opposition to Israeli government policies is automatically branded as anti-Semitic.

Instead of standing up for Palestinians who are being massacred in Gaza, you have chosen to support their killers. This is shameful. You are famous as a comedian but what you have done is no joke. By propagating a false narrative of increasing ‘anti-Semitism’ you have sought to distract attention from the 21,000 who have been murdered, including 9,000+ children, on to British Jews whose idea of discrimination is not getting a good seat in a restaurant.

Stephen Fry gets it half right.

Antisemitism is intolerable on any grounds.

What is also intolerable is weaponising antisemitism to cover for crimes of genocide by Israel against Palestinians.

Criticism of Israeli crimes is necessary for peace.

pic.twitter.com/w0D6gwGzyq

— Stewart Mills (@StewartMills) December 26, 2023

You’ve held hands with those who torture children, bomb hospitals & ambulances& murder church worshippers. It wasn’t always like this:

In April 2008 you signed a letter with 104 other Jews, including me, headed We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary. The letter said:

We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state founded on terrorism, massacres and the dispossession of another people from their land. We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state that even now engages in ethnic cleansing, that violates international law, that is inflicting a monstrous collective punishment on the civilian population of Gaza and that continues to deny to Palestinians their human rights and national aspirations.

We will celebrate when Arab and Jew live as equals in a peaceful Middle East.

How is it that in the intervening years you have parted company with anti-racist Jews in favour of racist Jews (Zionists)? Why do you think that neo-Nazi Tommy Robinson, ex-member of the holocaust denying BNP wanted to join the Zionist march against anti-Semitism recently? He says he is a Zionist. I think we can believe that.

Zionism’s Anti-Semitic Supporters

Have you ever wondered why neo-Nazis and White Supremacists admire Zionism and Israel? Anders Breivik, who murdered 77 young members of Norway’s Labour Party in 2011 was an ardentZionist.

Or neo-Nazi Richard Spencer, founder of the alt-Right, who organised the ‘Jews Will Not Replace Us’ march at Charlottesville. That hasn’t stopped him claiming that he is a White Zionist. 

What is it that attracts racists and anti-Semites from Trump and Bannon to Bolsonaro and Orban, to the Israeli state if not its ethno-nationalism and Islamaphobia? Why is it that the fascist Geert Wilders, who has just won the election in Netherlands, sees Israel as the last defence of civilisation?

By supporting the Zionists’ false accusation of ‘anti-Semitism’ you have also joined hands with Zionism’s anti-Semitic supporters. You have become, not everyone’s favourite uncle but an aged bigot.

The International Court of Justice at The Hague

False Accusations of Anti-Semitism

If you have any doubt Stephen about the weaponisation of anti-Semitism then the Times of Israel article ‘Blood libel’: Israel slams South Africa for filing ICJ genocide motion over Gaza war’ should convince even the most obtuse Zionist. It might even convince you.

South Africa’s crime? Filing a claim at the International Court of Justice against Israel. Zionism is once again using Jewish victims of anti-Semitism past in order to justify present day war crimes. This illustrates just how cynical Zionism is towards actual anti-Semitism.

The Blood Libel was the false accusation made against the Jews of Medieval Europe that they baked matzot, unleavened bread, with the blood of Christian children.

There is nothing false or imagined about Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. If referring to Israel’s war crimes in Gaza is a ‘blood libel’ then that can only mean that the accusations against Jews in times gone by were also true. This is Zionist anti-Semitism and this is what your Christmas message amounted to.

Stephen Fry’s Failure to Understand Anti-Semitism

Despite saying that you consider yourself Jewish you clearly weren’t brought up as one.  I noticed in your Xmas Monologue that you said that as a child you were almost unbearably fascinated by Xmas trivia.

In my Orthodox Jewish family Xmas was not celebrated. My rabbi father used to spit on the ground every time Jesus name was mentioned. Jesus was the ultimate heretic.

You are an atheist which implies that your reason for claiming to be Jewish is political or racial. In practice you have become a Jewish nationalist. It is no surprise that you claim that you are racially or genetically Jewish. 52% Ashkenazi no less!

You began your Xmas message by recalling how you grew up as gay and saw a ‘long and lonely’ life ‘exclusion, exile and disgrace’ ahead because of the homophobia of the time.

Yet, as you observe, during your ‘short lifetime’ society has ‘moved towards an understanding and acceptance’ of those who are gay. Yet when it comes to anti-Semitism, which was widespread in the 1940s and 50s you refuse to accept that attitudes have changed.

You begin your rant by asserting that anti-Semitism is a ‘light sleeper’ and you go on to say that it has now ‘woken up’. But has it? Anti-Semitism is not a person but a political phenomenon. Racism never sleeps but it does change and anti-Semitism has changed.

In the 1930s there was a large anti-Semitic fascist party, the British Union of Fascists, led by a member of the aristocracy Sir Oswald Moseley, which was supported by many other members of that class.

The British Establishment then was riddled with anti-Semitism. In October 1936 the BUF decided to stage a march through the Jewish East End and the Metropolitan Police, which contained many fascist sympathisers, tried to baton their way through the 200,000+ Jewish and non-Jewish working class demonstrators.

This became known as the Battle of Cable Street. However your friends in the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Chronicle, were strongly opposed to Jews taking part in counter-demonstrations to fascism. They advised Jews to ignore the fascists and stay at home. Moseley’s Blackshirts were genuine anti-Semites not today’s fake variety.

Your Support for Israel’s Genocide

You refer in your tirade to ‘the horrendous events’ of October 7, and ‘the Israeli response.’ Let us stop there. The latest casualty figures for October 7 are 1,147 and of those one-third were soldiers and the majority of the civilians were, it seems, killed by the Israeli military when tanks fired shells at kibbutz houses in order to prevent anyone being taken prisoner and swapped for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Whilst you condemn the events of October 7 as ‘horrendous’ you say nothing about the murder of over 20,000 people, 9,000+ of whom were children. These deaths and the massive number wounded do not seem to trouble you in the slightest. It seems that you have become a Jewish exceptionalist and racist.

You assert that October 7 and Israel’s attack on Gaza (the word ‘genocide’ never passes your lips) has led to a rise, according to the Metropolitan Police, of 1350%.

If this is true, then it is clear that strenuous efforts must be made not to associate British Jews with what Israel does. The advent of a ‘Jewish’ state has been a disaster for Jews everywhere.

But the Board of Deputies has gone out of its way to support the attacks of the Israeli state on Palestinians. Since the Board claims to represent British Jews is it any wonder that some people take them at their word and attack Jews because of what Israel does?

In 2018 when Israeli snipers murdered over 300 unarmed Palestinians in Gaza the Board chose to criticise Hamas not the killers. A subsequent statement placed all the blame on the victims.

An Open Letter by over 100 Jews made our position crystal clear:

We are appalled that the Board of Deputies (BoD) which claims to be “the voice of British Jews,” has once again attempted to justify the massacre of unarmed Palestinian people by the Israeli military. 

Is Anti-Semitism On the Increase in Britain?

There are good reasons for doubting that there has been a massive increase in anti-Semitism. By its own admission, the Metropolitan Police are using the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. As such its statistics are worthless.

If someone is attacked because they support Israeli genocide is that an anti-Semitic attack? Obviously not. The person has been attacked for their politics not their religion or race. I don’t condone attacking anyone, not even Zionists, but any such attacks are not anti-Semitic.

If however someone is attacked for no other reason than that they are Jewish, on the assumption that they support Israel’s genocide, then the attack is anti-Semitic. The blame for the attack lies equally with your Zionist friends as with the attackers because they gave people the idea that all Jews support war crimes against Palestinians.

We should ask ourselves why the Met are so eager to inflate the number of anti-Semitic incidents when in the 30s they operated as an adjunct to the BUF? Have they changed? All the evidence is that the Met are as racist now as they were 90 years ago. The only difference now is that their racism is directed at Muslim and Black people.

The Black Widow!

There are many other differences. Suella Braverman, the most racist Home Secretary Britain has ever had was vociferous in her opposition to anti-Semitism (in fact anti-Zionism).

xxxx

Israeli soldiers harassment of a Palestinian worker at Al Huda Gaz station in Al fawar camp in Hebron area. pic.twitter.com/HktNtHK20q

— Mustafa Barghouti @Mustafa_Barghouti (@MustafaBarghou1) December 31, 2023

In 1936 Home Secretary Sir John Simon, insisted on the fascists being allowed to march on the Jewish East End. In March 2023 Braverman was the guest of honour at the Annual Dinner of the CST, a Mossad Project that compiles statistics of anti-Semitic incidents. The CST work closely with the Met. Their statistics are, in the immortal phrase of Disraeli, ‘lies, damned lies and statistics’.

You paint a picture of anti-Semitism today that bears no relation to reality: swastikas daubed on buildings, shop windows smashed, Jewish schools forced to close. It seems as if Nazi Germany is around the corner. ‘There is real fear stalking the neighbourhoods of Britain’.

You say of your Jewish grandparents that:

I’m glad they aren’t alive now to read newspaper stories that would have reminded them of the 1930s Europe that they left. 

I am reminded of what Anshel Pffefer wrote in Ha’aretz during the height of Labour’s ‘anti-Semitism’ smear campaign. This was when the Campaign Against Antisemitism was claiming that polls showed more than half of British Jews felt that anti-Semitism echoed that of the 1930s. Pfeffer observed that if the CAA and British Jews

“actually believe that, then it’s hard to take anything they say about contemporary anti-Semitism in their home country seriously.”

Pfeffer added that such a belief showed

“a disconnect bordering on hysteria … not only are they woefully ignorant of recent Jewish history but have little concept of what real anti-Semitism is.” 

Twice in recent years you have signed letters for Israeli lobby group CCFP/Stand with Us. As Black rap artist, Lowkey, asked:

Can Stephen Fry be an authority on racism if he puts his name on the letters of a lobby group which functions as a proxy of a racist regime, exacting a genocidal war on the Palestinians?

The statement that you signed in 2007, began:

We come together in the belief that the broad spectrum of opinion among the Jewish population of this country is not reflected by those institutions which claim authority to represent the Jewish community as a whole. We further believe that individuals and groups within all communities should feel free to express their views on any issue of public concern without incurring accusations of disloyalty.

The Producers of Your video were involved in recruiting and training members of the Israeli Defence Force

The producers of Stephen Fry's controversial Christmas message were members of a Zionist youth group that funnels members into the Israeli military.

Fulwell73 was founded by Leo Pearlman, Benjamin Turner, Gabe Turner, and Ben Winston.

All of whom were members of the Zionist… pic.twitter.com/K3tDhBLC7B

— MintPress News (@MintPressNews) December 26, 2023

What makes your behaviour even worse Stephen is that your video was produced by Fulwell73 Productions, which was founded by 4 members of B'nei Akiva, which runs pre-military programmes to enrol members in Israel’s occupation forces. They have also spoken at events for Israel lobby group, the Jewish Leadership Council.

When I was a child, I was a member of Bnei Akiva, which was then the youth group of the National Religious Party which was in coalition with the Israeli Labor Party. After 1967 and the occupation of the West Bank the NRP moved steadily to the settler right and was part of the Greater Israel Movement.

Bnei Akiva functions as an adjunct to the far-right neo-Nazi settler movement in Israel. This is who produced your Alternative Christmas Message and this Stephen is who you have allied with.

Channel 4 should hang its head in shame for allowing fascists to produce their ‘alternative’ Christmas message. Perhaps next year they will invite the KKK to say what White Xmas means to them?

I’ve been crying since morning nonstop till I saw this message from Alexei Sayle, a British Jewish comedian.

He restored me.

The best #Christmas message you will hear in these dark days #Gazapic.twitter.com/9tYYVOhQQu

— Abier (@abierkhatib) December 26, 2023

At least some people have retained their integrity in this sordid affair. Tamara Abood, a former Channel 4 commissioning editor, who is now a psychotherapist working with people in the entertainment industry, criticised Channel 4’s decision to screen the message.

She was also critical of Fulwell 73, the production company that made the programme:

“The asymmetry of the conflict was not remotely reflected in what Stephen Fry had to say. It was carefully worded lip service.”

Ms Abood added that Channel 4’s broadcast about anti-Semitism “demonstrates where the power lies”. Her LinkedIn post was ‘liked’ by Deborah Williams, the head of Creative Diversity Network, a diversity and inclusion charity to the Zionists chagrin.

In response to criticism by racist former colleagues Abood observed that “Historically the spectre of anti-Semitism has been used to silence debate and I see a lot of that on here.”

If British Jews were treated even a hundredth as badly as Palestinians by Israel then you would have good reason Stephen to complain of anti-Semitism. As it is you should shut your mouth and keep it shut.

Just imagine that you were told that the British state only belonged to its Christian citizens and that Jews were considered a fifth column. You would be the first to complain. Yet your ‘alternative’ Xmas message had but one purpose – to reinforce the false ‘anti-Semitism’ message that criticism of what Israel does equals hatred of Jews. In making that claim it is you, not Israel’s critics, who is anti-Semitic .

xxxx

A scene of what had occurred on October 7th.

Our tanks attacked! pic.twitter.com/CoZ3MR0fyl

— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) December 30, 2023

Stephen. You were once considered a national treasure. Today you are a national disgrace mouthing the same platitudes as Braverman whose concern over ‘anti-Semitism’ was in inverse proportion to her racism against everyone else.

Braverman’s demonization of refugees crossing the Channel was a genuine example of racism. Your invocation of anti-Semitism was fake and contrived. Your Xmas message a mixture of maudlin, lachrymose sentiment totally at odds with the experience of Jews in Britain today

Tony Greenstein