Iran’s Attack on Israel
6 min read
The British actor’s alternative Christmas message broadcasted on BBC was a bold, courageous statement that is getting a lot of hate.
On December 25 he delivered Channel 4's Alternative Christmas Message to Britain. It’s a huge honor. Each year, King Charles (and before him, Queen Elizabeth) delivers a formal Royal Christmas Message, wishing all a happy holiday and highlighting important social issues and messages. For the past 30 years, a popular figure then delivers an alternative point of view.
Stephen Fry, a disengaged Jew, tackled antisemitism. “One truth about myself…that I never thought for one single second would ever be an issue about which I had any cause to worry in this country was that I’m a Jew,” he intoned. “Yes, you heard me correctly, I am a Jew.” Acknowledging that “that may surprise some people,” Fry described how his mother’s Jewish family fled Central Europe in the 1930s, finding refuge in England. Fry pointed out that something has profoundly shifted.
“My Jewish grandparents loved Britain, believing that Jews were more welcome here than in most countries,” Fry told the nation. “I am glad they aren’t alive now to read newspaper stories that would have reminded them of the 1930s Europe that they left behind… Since October the 7th there have been 50 separate reported incidents of antisemitism every day in London alone, an increase of 1350%... Shop windows smashed, Stars of David and swastikas daubed on walls of Jewish properties, synagogues, and cemeteries. Jewish schools have been forced to close. There is real fear stalking the Jewish neighborhoods of Britain. Jewish people here are becoming fearful of showing themselves.”
Fry’s statistics are sobering. In London in December alone, a Jewish man wearing a kippah was punched in the head by someone who yelled “kill the Jews” at a London bus stop. An Orthodox woman was kicked and punched on a busy street in the middle of the afternoon until she lost consciousness in what London police are investigating as an anti-Jewish hate crime. Jewish schools in London have closed temporarily rather than have students and parents risk their lives by walking past angry mobs calling for the eradication of Israel which have sometimes demonstrated outside. And women putting up posters of Israeli hostages have been attacked, pushed to the ground, and kicked.
The situation is similar in much of the world. In France, “the number of antisemitic acts has exploded,” announced Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin. In Germany, the Israeli embassy in Berlin recently said that the rise of antisemitic incidents in that city is “reminiscent of the Third Reich” era. In the United States, FBI director Christopher Wray described the current climate of antisemitism as “reaching…historic levels.”
Backlash
While some have welcomed Fry’s beautiful Christmas message, many have excoriated him for daring to defend Jews and criticizing antisemitism. Soon after Fry was announced as this year’s deliverer of the Alternative Christmas Message, Karen Pollock, Chief Executive of Britain’s Holocaust Education Trust, wrote that both she and Fry were being inundated with hateful anti-Israel messages on social media every time they were linked to any criticism of antisemitism, no matter what the context.
Pollack explained that when the Holocaust Education Trust posted about the 85th anniversary of a group of Jewish children being brought to safety in Britain, they had to turn off the comment button on their Twitter account. Messages included “Holocaust is fake zionism (sic),” “From the River to the Sea…Israehell will never be,” “and Keep the world clean” along with a picture of a Jewish star being dumped into a garbage can. This sort of discourse has become commonplace on social media since Hamas October 7 attacks, she notes, identifying Stephen Fry as a particular target of online hate.
As soon as Fry delivered his message, Twitter was rife with vile anti-Israel rants and comments excoriating him for daring to complain about anyone hating Jews. The Express - a sensationalist Britain newspaper - immediately posted the headline “Stephen Fry sparks angry backlash to pro-Israel alternative Christmas message on Channel 4” - even though Fry’s message had nothing whatsoever to do with Israel. The newspaper reported that Fry is being accused of “spreading propaganda” about Israel and linked to some of the many anti-Fry messages flooding social media.
Ignorance about Jews and Israel
Confusion and ignorance about Jews and Israel allow these sorts of antisemitic attitudes to take root and grow.
Ignorance about Jews and Israel is growing. In 2020, a major study found that fully 63% of Americans did not know that 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. Another survey that year found that 11% of Millennial and Generation Z Americans (19% in New York state) thought that it was Jews themselves who caused the Holocaust.
Ron Hassner, a political science professor and Chair of the Israel Studies Department at the University of California, Berkeley, recently surveyed protestors yelling the well-known slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” asking them which river and which sea the slogan referred to. (The slogan is a way of saying that the entire territory which currently makes up Israel, the lands governed by the Palestinian Authority, and Gaza - all of which lie between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea - should be one entity. This would mean the eradication of Israel and likely the deaths of millions of Israeli Jews should an extremist organization like Hamas come to power.) In Prof. Hassner’s survey, a majority of demonstrators - 53% - couldn’t name which river and which sea they were talking about. “There’s no shame in being ignorant unless one is screaming for the extermination of millions,” Prof. Hassner notes. Another recent poll found that 50% of Americans between 18 to 24 support Hamas in the current Israel-Hamas war.
Stephen Fry’s Answer to Antisemitism
Given the horrible smears against Stephen Fry since his Christmas Address, his message of hope is more important than ever. Fry noted the importance of being proud to be Jewish. “I’m frankly damned if I’ll let antisemites be the ones who define me, and take ownership of the word Jew, injecting it with their own spiteful venom. So I accept and claim the identity with pride, I am Stephen Fry, and I am a Jew… At this time in the face of the greatest rise in anti-Jewish racism since records began, Jews should stand upright and proud in who they are…Standing upright means speaking up and calling out venomous slurs and hateful abuse wherever you encounter them. Knowing and loving this country as I do, I don’t believe that most Britons are ok living in a society that judges hatred of Jews to be the one acceptable form of racism. So speak up, stand with us, be proud to be Jewish, or Jew-ish - or, if not Jewish at all, proud to have us as much a part of this great nation as any other minority, as any of you.”
It took courage for Stephen Fry, long considered a quintessentially English national treasure, to identify himself so publicly as a Jew, and to use his Christmas Message to deliver such an unpopular speech. May his message inspire all of us to stand tall, be proud, and refuse to ignore the antisemitism that’s all around us.
The significance of Stephen Fry's message is that it comes from a British cultural idol. His words have more impact than the Archbishop of Canterbury, so when he speaks out against antisemitism younger people especially look up and take note. I don't know his history but assume he came from a totally assimilated Jewish background. He lives as a non-Jew and follows a lifestyle that British academia and media push as being perfectly legitimate. I don't know if we can attack him for views and lifestyle in this situation, but we should recognize the wave of hate he exposed himself to with this most mild criticism of rising antisemitism.
Sadly these antisemites, are brainwashed. Did you know that Hamas, shoot at Citizens of Gaza, when humanitarian help arrives? They take this for this for themselves. They even killed a boy. not all Palestinians are bad. They also from Hamas. This is true.
As noted by others, Fry's address is not about Israel. It isn't about Judaism, either; he doesn't say anything about his belief in God.
Fry is an atheist. Fry has explicitly stated that the Jewish/Christian/Muslim God is not worthy of worship. He points to the suffering in the world and questions how anyone could praise a God for creating such a world. Nothing that happened in October will have changed this view.
Among other things, he is pointing out that antisemitism isn't about religion if even a Jew like himself without Jewish religious beliefs is a target of hate. It is this hate that he is standing up against. He is not defending the religion.
Fry is speaking up now only because HE is affected. The irony is that he is part of the problem. Like the vile Miriam Margolyes he has been openly and unfairly critical of Israel. Fry appeared with her on a programme with David Baddiel who was pushing his book ‘Jews Don’t Count”. Fry happily threw Israel under the bus (as did Baddiel himself) in insisting that just because he was Jewish he didn’t have to agree with Israel’s policies. He not only distanced himself from Israel, but in fact delegitimised and denigrated the Jewish State. He didn't educate himself to see the lies spread by the Mainstream media. Now that the hatred built up against Israel has come home to roost, Fry isn’t happy.Well, Mr. Fry, as you sow, so shall you reap.
Are you suggesting that every Jew should defend every policy of every Israeli government? Sorry to tell you, Fry is not the only Jew in opposition to some of the current government's policies. Is Fry "part of the problem" or are these Israeli government's policies "part of the problem"?
Do you seriously believe that just because he was Jewish he DID have to agree with Israel’s policies?
I'm curious what you want for Israel.How much land do you want given away? Some? 50%? All? Are you aware that the indigenous of Israel are Jews? Perhaps you need to visit Israel and spend your whole time in museums studying the artifacts. That might awaken you as to who are the indigenous of the land of Israel.
I could well ask you the same questions: How much land do you want to take away? All?
There is archaeological evidence of humans in the Middle East from over 1 million years ago. Does every community that has ever had roots there have a claim to be "indigenous"?
I was born in North America and live on the land of an indigenous people. Are you saying that I have no rights here? If not here, then where?
Well, if you have rights in the US, living on truly stolen land, then how much more do Jews have to right to their homeland in Israel, given that Jewish presence in the land can be traced back to biblical times. When all European & African &...etc. ancestry US citizens leave the US and hand it ALL back to the native Americans, then - and only then - can you make stipulations for the Jews in Israel.
That said, of course you can criticize specific policies of the Israeli government; Israelis do so all the time!
You need to think about what you're saying from the perspective of others. There's a saying over here: Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his moccasins.
The billion people who live in the Americas aren't going to suddenly disappear leaving the land to the natives, nor are the Palestinians going to willingly up and leave THEIR land to the Israelis.
And, yes, it is "their land". They were living on it and had been living on it for generations when the Zionists started arriving from Europe and elsewhere.
And, no, the Israelis can't be expected to willing up and leave what is now THEIR land, either.
So a peace can only be reached when everyone accepts the other's right to exist where they are living.
Sadly, I think that hatred makes this impossible during my lifetime.
Stephen Fry has long insulted Israel, and hoped for its destruction. If he has finally changed his mind, great, but for DECADES he supported the PLO.
What would the Arab world THINK or FEEL if the rest of us (world) announced it was our intention not to buy their oil, and then state we simply want them all DEAD. Hmm, think they might get nervous?!
Did it only take him 2.5 months to stand up? maybe he should have said something on October 8?
Fry has hated Israel for a very long time, and has been very ambivalent about his Jewishness for a VERY long time, and has supported the Palestinians for a very long time. He has called Israel a disgrace in the past.
I would wait and see.
I recently listened to a broadcast by Caroline Glick explaining that after 10/7/23, nearly all the leftists (socialists, Labour, Democrat, whatever one calls it) in Israel, have now switched sides to conservative and are no longer interested in a "two-state solution," or anything from the "Palestinians." The leftists in Israel had been encouraged and coerced by American Jewish leftists for decades to blame Israel for all the conflicts in Israel (which is barbaric, in my opinion). Hopefully American Jewish leftists will stop the dangerous ideology they undertook and change. I pray that Israeli Jewish leftists are no longer swayed by American leftist Jews. It's a deadly, pro-terrorist ideology the American Jewish leftists have.
It's completely politically incorrect and unwoke to say this but it they aint following Jewish Law this country is going to stay mired in the political messes its been in one way or another ever since its inception,existing from war to war.It's G-ds special country, full of G-ds special people who largely don't do anything He's asked them to do.And there you have it.You can't say your 'a proud Jew' while you hide your identity and desperately try to assimilate.
It says it over and over in G-ds special Book! .......But no! When will this stiff neck nation get the message?
Good for him. I always admired as an actor & now I love him as a proud Jew, as am I. Am Yisroel Chai.
My sincere earlier comment seems to have disappeared.
The Lord God CHOSE the Jewish people to make Covenant with. The Lord God SHOULD NOT BE IGNORED! Jews bring God's Word to the World.
Now! THATS an old fashioned theory if ever there was one😉
Let's hope his 'awakening' will now inspire him to align his values and lifestyle with the Torah. That will be will speak volumes louder to the non-Jewish world than the most eloquent and passionate words.
Please don't hold your breath we have suffered enough losses.
I’m not of the Jewish Faith but, if all faiths do not come together and support the Jewish Faith at this time, then we will be next on the agenda for those who spread the vile, cruet and spiteful rubbish. A simple message: to those who espouse these hateful words:
“Evil be to Him who Evil Thinks”.
Most of the anti Jewish comments are coming to us via social media platforms. Solution: close these platforms down and deny these people platforms from which to spread their evil lies.
Many people have swallowed the lie that, the Holocaust never happened. Solution start using a library to research the holocaust and use what is between your ears to look beyond your own little part of the world.
J Williams, you speak the truth. I commend you! Thank you
> Many people have swallowed the lie that, the Holocaust never happened.
General Eisenhower made his soldiers walk through the extermination camps. He ordered those camps filmed. He forced German civilians to walk through them. The Nuremberg Trials meticulously documented Nazi atrocities. All so that no one could say it never happened - and yet people are saying it never happened.
I'm not Jewish - and I hope the IDF treats Hamas like the Amalekites they are.
It's about time we did not give "credit" to those Jew haters (from mostly Muslim people) and call them ignorant. They are ignorant and much worse but their root hatred is just that, hate. No amount of education, facts and history evidence will change that.
There is no wonder most Muslim countries are poor, full of conflicts and saturated with terror groups. Of course, most Europeans conveniently choose to ignore that fact because if they faced it, they would have to admit that the problem is Islam and not the small state of Israel.
That would be going against their predisposed agenda that Jews are the root problems. And yes, make no mistake, most of Europe is still in the 2930's when it comes to that. Britain and especially Ireland are the worst.
He ended with the Great Jewish Sigh but the universally Jewish words his grandparents would have said next were: "s'iz shver tzi zaan a yeed" which would translate as "its hard to be a Jew". Which is why those of us who are closer to our Jewish identities (and are not trying to assimilate into societies who have never appreciated us) are expressing little surprise or outrage.
As this gentleman can attest-you can run but you can't hide😉 Chin up people.
I prefer to be called Hebrew.
Why? What are you?Are you a Jew? An Israeli? A bible follower?
It takes great courage to identify oneself as a Jew in such a rabidly anti-Semitic environment, so Mr. Fry is to be commended!
Not surprising that totally ignorant, blind-to-the-truth haters are choking on (or frying in!) their misplaced fury. 😉
It takes great courage if one has lived a life denying it or hiding it.
I was unaware of that, but perhaps it makes his stance even more courageous if he's been known as a supporter of the wrong side!
I think he's just got older and knows he ain't going anywhere good with his lgbtq+×÷ identity so siding with his brothers might be a safe bet seeing as this could be the 11th hour. I happen to think people like that are cowards.
He was greatly supporting the Palestinians and insulting Israel on October 6th.
That's most unfortunate, but we have 2 important concepts in our religion that shouldn't be overlooked: (a) a Jew can always do teshuvah (return to his roots / repent), and whether or not it's sincere usually becomes apparent over time, but in any case Hashem knows!
And (b) we're supposed to give the benefit of the doubt.
Putting these together, perhaps it's a good idea to see where Mr. Fry goes from here. In any case, we can accomplish more by hoping that now that he has identified himself as a Jew, he'll start searching to find out what that means. (In other words, instead of swallowing Arab propaganda, he'll bother to find out the Truth, both historically &, especially, spiritually.)
Brave to speak out a peace wish and your Jewish identity on a holy day as this is in a hated world.
Shame the brainless hate respons of a message of peace .
In what kind of world wer'e living in.
What a brilliant message. If only the haters realised the difference between lies and truth there would be no wars. Those ignorant ones, yes you, if you educated yourself in the real history and not made up history, you would live a happy life and help others less fortunate.
Hate is a disease that rots the brain.
When he fully accepts ZIONISM he will feel stronger as a Jew.
Right. Unless things have changed, he HATES ISRAEL.
Why not give him a chance to find out what it truly means to be a Jew. After he accomplishes that, loving Israel (including Am Yisrael !) can follow naturally.