Blog No. 7
Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 5:13PM This year, 2009, marks my 30 year anniversary as a professional entertainer. For three decades I have earned my living on the stage of the original Comedy Store, on the TV, on the radio, in films and for the last ten years working mainly as a writer. On the way up to Liverpool for the Christmas holidays thousands of tail-lights flashed red through my rain-smeared windscreen on the black M6 and I thought to myself “...almost half of the people in those cars up ahead are vaguely aware of who I am.”
Once I got back to London the first thing I did was to cycle to the Israeli embassy to join the protest against the on-going massacre in Gaza. On the way there I happened to pass the Chinese embassy and there was another demonstration going past that. These protesters were from the Falun Gong movement which is savagely repressed in China. Their demonstration was led by an amazing sight - a Falun Gong marching band! There were about thirty of them and they were dressed in the most extraordinary matching uniforms: on their heads they wore a sort of Smurf-like hat and on their bodies fantastic blue and white jerkins and trousers covered in Chinese characters. I told my wife about them and she wants them to play at her birthday party but I don’t know if they do gigs or not.
At least, this time, the police let us stand outside the Israeli embassy itself. Years ago I used to take part in the monthly picket demanding the release of the Israeli nuclear whistle- blower Mordechai Vanunnu, but the police used to make us hold our protest down an alley about half a mile away from the embassy so we were in fact picketing a pizza place whose staff were bewildered as to why a load of people were shouting at them once a month to free a bloke they'd never heard of.
I’ve just confirmed that I’ll be speaking at the Stop The Massacre Rally on Saturday along with Annie Lennox among others. I hope I’ll be some help but I suspect I often cause confusion at these things because I’m no good at just shouting slogans. When I spoke at the protests in 2006 against the Israeli bombing of Lebanon I said that while Israel enjoys all the benefits of a democratic state it behaves no better than a terrorist organisation. I told the thousands of people in Trafalgar Square that Israel even has an entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest though it's not actually in Europe and we’d truly know that Palestine was free when they had an entrant too, singing some song that went “binga bonga bing”. That just perplexed everybody. I hope I make more sense on Saturday. (Assemble 12.30 at Embankment Station in London).
I have noticed that when I quickly scan the headlines I often find I’ve confused Gaza with Gazza so I see “Gaza bombed for sixth day” and I don’t know whether it’s the tiny strip of land or the ex-footballer. Probably best not to mention that on Saturday.
Reader Comments (60)
I hope that you do say something stupid on Saturday. I would expect no less. Please say something stupid (with the Cliff Adams Singers) for me too.
Time for a Surrealist protest I think. We should all wave toast at them whilst shouting our support for Nicholas Parsons.
If only you knew anything from an authentic Jewish perspective, I pity the fact you were brought up as a Commie and are so far removed from your roots. I would like to give you a blessing that one day soon you will want to get return to your roots and set fire to your beautiful Jewish soul, a start would be to check out websites such as these.
http://www.chabad.org/
http://www.torah.org/
You have been given the most wonderful inheritance, please take the time to "cash" it in.
Good shabbos my brother
Robbie
Happy New Year, well done on the protests. Maybe after reading the Israeli propaganda you could also for balance consult Jews for Justice for Palestine website;
http://www.jfjfp.org/
Lets hope sense prevails.
Al
You say you are ashamed of Israel and your people
WE are ashamed that you have any Jewish blood at all you arab loving, commie, fat b@stard
may you rot in hell
You might have been more credible if you would have also protested the 10000 missiles Hamas has fired on Israel.
Alexi,
It is we who are ashamed with you.
A holiday greetings from President MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, to all of you in England.
Oy. Gevault.
Larry, OOOOOHHHHH Larry, what is the likelihood of a two-state solution?
It must really suck to be famous and have the courage to express your opinions. If I go to a protest, none of these guys would ask me to come take a dip in the mikvah or tell me to rot in hell. Just don't protest the pizza place with the Falun Gong marching band! Who knows what might happen?
Back to Gaza, I am personally against all the violence on both sides and I find the whole situation so heartbreaking that most of the time I do not know what to say.
But it must be really nice and an easy life for those who follow lockstep and ALWAYS know what to say. Those who are unwilling to set their rhetoric and dogma aside long enough to step into the other person's shoes and entertain the notion that perhaps NONE of us is CHOSEN anymore than any other person.
I'm such a bad Jew. I have tattoos -- one of a Chai, no less! And some days, I just HAVE TO have a bacon cheeseburger. But what really makes me a bad Jew in the eyes of many is that I do not accept the concept that I am chosen, BETTER, than anyone else. If that is our wonderful inheritance, I'll pass, thanks.
This comment is an authentic Jewish perspective, by the way. Du vilst af Yiddish?
You're obviously web-savvy, so go check out the Amnesty International report, and then tell us what you think about Palestinian human rights abuses:
"The attacks against civilians by Palestinian armed groups are widespread, systematic and in pursuit of an explicit policy to attack civilians. They therefore constitute crimes against humanity under international law. They may also constitute war crimes"
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE02/003/2002
It's black and white. It's honest. It's true. It's from Amnesty International so you simply can't reject it. Unless, of course, you're really a just another modern politically incorrect jerk who really doesn't give a shit about universal human rights - and that would make you, of course, simply another racist bigot.
However, I think you simply operate in a vaccum. I don't think you've ever been to Sderot, nor have you ever seen the Amnesty report, nor do any of your friends know that Hamas and their buddies have been trying to kill us for 8 years with some 10 thousand rockets and mortar shells.
So I challenge you to get off your couch (change the picture, it really makes you look passive) and come visit your fellow Jews in Israel. You can stay in Sderot for a few weeks and see what it's like first hand to dodge missiles. It'll give you great material for your acts, show some solidarity with victims of crimes against humanity, and give yourself some badly needed first hand education.
E-mail me and I'll arrange the visit for you. I'm 100% serious about this. Nothing gives me better pleasure than showing people first hand evidence. If you feel the same afterwards, then so be it - you can go back on tv and call us Israelis a bunch of lowlife war criminals. However, until you come and check it out yourself, I say you're simply an ignoramous with a microphone.
I was one of your biggest fans, I have everyting of yours. I am ashmed of you supporting an orginisation who wants no only to wipe Israel of the map, but to also to wipe the Jews of the face of the earth. For no fault of their own, Jews in this country are being attacked for simply for being Jewish, this regardless of their stand on the middle east.( See JC website). I hope that you dont get attacked, and if life for you gets too bad here, I am sure that you will find a nice home in Iran.
Dave, have you actually read Alexei's comments? If not please read them and if so please ask a grown up to tell you what they mean as you clearly don't understand as you have totally misrepresented them.
It is not disproportionate at all - it seems according to balanced sources 80% of dead are Hamas members and therefore completely fair game, as they are 1. a terrorist organization as recognized by every civilized country 2. a group which has declared war on Israel therefore Israel is acting perfectly legally in responding 3. Hamas has inflicted endless attacks on Israel over the years in the forms of suicide bombs, rockets, shootings and kidnappings - thus Israel is perfectly within its rights to defend itself.
I think people have a very short sighted view of the crimes of Hamas - as they were the main force behind the bus bombs of several years ago.
People cannot consider members of enemy terrorist organizations as either innocent or victims.
Death is always tragic, but this is what war is. The civilian deaths are also tragic but they are proportionally lower than any significant conflict I think of having happened in decades if not longer.
Again what we see is the singling out of Israel for criticism and propaganda, despite Israel being far more moral and "well behaved" than any comparative examples- thus I must conclude logically that Israel is being held to a standard no other nation is held to - and thus as it is the only Jewish country and given mass history of anti-Jewish feeling - I must conclude these views come from racist dispositions. And those from Communist backgrounds have one of the strongest motivations for being self hating!
Thank you ! Thank you! Thank you, for speaking out on the persecution and obliteration by a cowardly country, of thousands and thousands of innocent civilians. To hear a Jewish person speak out is so refreshing and hopeful.
The silence from the 1,000's of Jewish actors, musicians and celebrities in Britain is deafening and disgraceful.
Thank you, Alexei.
Sayle, you are filth. If you were born a couple of generations earlier you would have undoubtedly been a collaborator with the Nazis.
Having just heard Alexei on the BBC this morning I thought it was fantastically refreshing to hear someone with a Jewish background speaking so honestly and incisively on this issue for once.
I share the view that we in the west are in danger of excusing Israel yet again and that they have the power to stop this senselss killing right now. Thanks Alexei and more power to ya:)
The only war the Palestinians will win is that of propaganda. hamas are guilty of killing their own as well as thousands of other innocents, yet they manage to gain sympathy from the ignorant masses. Had the school in Israel been full of children when it was hit by a hamas missile earlier in the week what would your view have been then? While hamas has the sole intention of the complete destruction of Israel, Israel has no option other than to protect itself, and the fact that hamas is willing to expose its civilians to this type of retaliation shows them in their true colours. Israel wants peace, this has been proved with Egypt and Jordan. Hamas wants death to Israel.
Alexei,
From one human to another, I just wanted to thank you for taking a public stance against the bombing of Gaza.
Aya Abuhassan
Aya - where was your public stance when hamas was firing rockets at innocent women and children in Israel. From one human to another don't you think you have double standards here?
Alexie,
One has to admire your courage for the stand you have taken against the atrocities being visited upon the people of Gaza.
You have said things we would all like to say but are afraid of being labled anti-Semitic. Your being Jewish makes what you say more potent and I'm glad that there is such a voice against this abomination. Arabs and Jews, cousins in reality, have lived in harmony for thousands of years, pre and post Islam. These incidents make it very difficult to get back to the negotiating table, the only place that can bring peace. In an athmosphere of 'tooth for a tooth, eye for an eye' , all there is to look forward to is an endless cycle of violence.
You must know that you will now incurr the wrath of the Zionist propaganda machinery. I hope you have some sound investments as, in suble ways, you will find it increasingly difficult to get work, gigs, have your work published etc. etc. now that you have spoken your mind in such a public way.
Once again thanks, and may your voice be firm, loud and clear and may your basic humanistic instinct be with you. There are millions with you.
Desmond
Desmond - as a jew I promise you that if you had anything worthwhile to say you would not be labeled anti-semetic. Who is Israel supposed to negotiate with? hamas refuse to recognize Israel and have pledged to destroy them. Israel has withdrawn from Gaza and the West Bank, stopped building settlements and observed a cease fire, yet the terrorists you are defending have conceded nothing and continually send unguided missiles into Israel with the sole intention of killing as many people as possible.
As for your inference that the media is controlled by Jews and therefore Mr. Sayle may find it harder to get work, I am afraid you make yourself look plain stupid.