Pro-Palestine activists demand cancellation of Dame Maureen Lipman's theatre show
Pro-Palestine activists have called for the cancellation of a theatre performance by Jewish actress Dame Maureen Lipman. The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) Aberdeen accused her of holding harmful views and demanded organisers drop her upcoming show.
Antisemitism campaigners have strongly condemned the move, labelling it a 'campaign of intimidation' with antisemitic undertones.
Dame Maureen is scheduled to star in Allegra at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen from May 26 to 30. The SPSC Aberdeen branch urged venue organisers to cancel her appearance, citing her 'long record of harmful statements about Muslims, Palestinians and Palestinian rights.' The group also accused her of being 'an open supporter of the settler-colonial, apartheid state of Israel' and of expressing 'extremist Islamophobic anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab views.'
The activists created a poster depicting Dame Maureen as the devil, a depiction criticised for using an enduring antisemitic trope. Campaign Against Antisemitism condemned the imagery as 'Jew-baiting' and a revival of a 'longstanding antisemitic trope.' In 2006, during a BBC2 debate, Dame Maureen stated: 'Human life is not cheap to the Israelis, and human life on the other side is quite cheap actually, because they strap bombs to people and send them to blow themselves up.' More recently, she compared modern Britain to '1933' after a rise in antisemitic incidents. She has also called for a ban on pro-Palestine marches, arguing they foster 'benign hatred' against London’s Jewish community.
The dispute highlights tensions between free expression and accusations of bigotry. Dame Maureen’s performance remains scheduled, though organisers have not publicly responded to the cancellation demands. Antisemitism campaigners continue to denounce the pressure on her as an attempt to silence a Jewish public figure through intimidation.
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