1y ago

Pro-Palestine demonstrators accused of antisemitism after protesting outside Fiddler on the Roof

www.independent.co.uk

Pro-Palestine demonstrators accused of antisemitism after Fiddler on the Roof protest

The play is not about Israel but instead tells the story of a Jewish man preserving his family’s traditions in a village in imperial Russia at the turn of the 20th century. The performance on Monday went ahead as planned after the protest at the cafe.

“This is a performance of Fiddler on the Roof,” they wrote alongside footage of the protesters. “So, if you’re busy condemning racist demonstrations, but not this, & you don’t think they should be prosecuted, stop preening yourself. You’re happy with racism – it’s only the target that you worry about.”

70 comments

The article doesn't have any statements from the protestors about why they were protesting there. Seems like a glaringly obvious omission.
- Also, it's not exactly clear where "there" even was
  A video shared on social media shows protesters holding Palestinian flags and accusing theatregoers at a cafe next to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre of “Zionism”.
  ...
  A spokesperson for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre said: “The videos that emerged on social media were exchanges that did not take place at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Last night’s performance went ahead as planned.”
  Was this demonstration actually in response to the play performance or did they just happen to be near each other?
- Also, Palestinians are Semites...
  
  That's not what antisemitism means. This is like thinking that antipasto means someone is opposed to Pasto. Two different words.
  
  How is that relevant?
- Because the play involved Jewish protagonists even though it had nothing to do with Israel or Palestine? That's the point.
  Pro-Palestinian protests are justified, but when they do things like this or things like defacing the statue of Anne Frank, they are clearly being appropriated by those who say Zionism so they can avoid the antisemitism label.
There's a second layer of heavy irony here when you look at what led to the Zionist movement in the first place.
Jewish persecution across Europe had always been a thing, but following the Russian revolution, there were pogroms of Jews, who were scapegoated by Tsar supporters as responsible for the revolution.
This was the straw that broke the camel's back. It led a prominent Jewish thinker/author to conclude that Jews would never have safety or security unless they had their own country. Simultaneously, Jewish culture was undergoing changes and enlightenment at the time. All of this taken together is what gave rise to a powerful Zionist movement.
Fiddler of the Roof is the last thing anyone should protest, because preserving Jewish culture in Russia and hostilities from Russia towards it are what led to Israel in the first place!
I think it would be disingenuous to claim there aren't a lot of antisemites involved in Pro-Palestinian protests.
- The challenge with the left is that any attempt to call out that antisemitism or those individuals is seen as an attempt to undermine the entire movement.
  I would love to see a free and safe Palestine alongside a free and safe Israel. Some will accuse me of being hateful or at least delusional for wishing for peaceful co-existence.
  
  The problem is (until recently) Zionists used soothing words about a two state solution while building illegal settlements in the West Bank and enforcing a brutal apartheid.
  The only solution is one state with equal rights for all. But that is the one solution no one in the West is talking about because it goes against the ethno state's raison d'etre.
- Depends how you quantify "a lot". More then none, much less than a majority.
  
  It's an uneven distribution, like the post demonstrates.
- It would be disingenuous to claim that antisemitism isn't being weaponised by Zionists and their allies to muzzle free speech.
  
  Both are true, so why do you seem to suggest they are mutually exclusive?
I don't know whether or not they're antisemitic, but they do need to read the fucking room.
- It is absolutely antisemitic. Fiddler on the Roof is about the Jewish culture and has nothing to do with Zionism or Israel.
  This would be like protesting against Saudi Arabia actions at an Eid festival.
  
  I'm Jewish (I'm even a mod in our Jewish community here on lemmy.world) and I am very sensitive to antisemitism, but there is also a lot of ignorance which you can call a form of soft bigotry if you like, but it does not rise to something I would consider antisemitism.
  It could very well be that this was a case of a bunch of ignorant people.
  Someone else suggested (based on the article itself) that it may have been coincidental and the protest just happened to be in the vicinity of the musical.
  Or they were a bunch of antisemites.
  I don't feel like I have enough information to judge.
People are dying in a literal genocide and this garbage gets upvoted?
Oh shit a protest was near a fucking play, stop the press who cares about genocide against the Palestinians let’s focus on bogus claims of antisemitism instead.
This is an obvious case of trying to tar pro-Palestine supporters as antisemitic, same as has been done every other day by the media and zionists.
That's pretty stupid.
Are performances about Nakba allowed in Israel? Asking for a friend.
- This was in London and has nothing to do with Israel whatsoever, so how is that relevant?
  
  So, are performances about Nakba allowed in Israel?
- I don't think FelixCress is arguing in good faith, but to answer their question, yes.
  The film Farha was shown in the Israeli town Jaffa, to much debate.
  
  And, to quote the article you linked:
  “It’s crazy that Netflix decided to stream a movie whose whole purpose is to create a false pretence and incite against Israeli soldiers,” said Israel’s outgoing finance minister, Avigdor Lieberman, in a statement. Lieberman also said he would look at withdrawing state funding from Al Saraya theatre in the Arab-majority town of Jaffa, which screened the film.
  Now go figure.
Morons. I support the other pro-Palestinian protests.
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70 comments