Truth behind the hate
Channel 4, 9pm
DAVID Baddiel, comedian, author, presenter and – as his one-word Twitter bio brilliantly states – Jew, has noticed something rather bizarre.
At a time of extreme sensitivity about racism and discrimination towards minorities, there seems to be a lack of inclusion towards Jews.
Mention anti-semitism and there might be an eye roll. Sometimes it’s much worse. David remembers going to a football match with his brother Ivor when a fan started aggressively chanting “F*** the f***ing yids” and then “F*** the Jews”.
But there was no outrage. No one was turfed out of the stadium.
Following David’s book of the same name as this show, this thought-provoking documentary explores why Jews are often ignored by people who loudly and proudly support other minority groups.
He says: “We don’t count in the conversation about racism and discrimination. Why do these ancient negative stereotypes persist? I’ll tell you why, it’s because Jews don’t count.”
The stereotypes he is referring to – used as Nazi propaganda – are well known, but he asks some famous Jews to help him out.
“We run Hollywood, we control the banks, we’re looking to take over the world,” says Friends actor David Schwimmer.
“They can be vermin, they can be filthy, they can be super rich,” explains Countdown co-presenter Rachel Riley.
“We’re a sort of hidden malevolent force,” says actor Stephen Fry.
Using examples from popular culture, from theatre to football and politics, David confronts the viewer with this blind spot.
At a time when Jewish hate crime is on the rise, Baddiel has made an important film about a millennia-old prejudice that should seriously be called out.