Shoah deniers in kebab shop tirade against comic
Comedian who performs show about antisemitism left tearful after men tell him, ‘Jews should be wiped out’ and give fascist salute
V COMEDIAN AND campaigner against antisemitism Marlon Solomon has described what it was like being subjected to abuse by two men who said Jews were “the scourge of the earth”.
Mr Solomon, who performs a oneman show about antisemitism and conspiracy theories, tweeted about how the men approached him last Saturday evening in a kebab shop in Manchester and asked: “Are you a f***ing Jew?”
Ms Solomon, who filmed the incident, said they approached him and started making “snide remarks” and told him he “was not British and that Jews should be wiped out. They gave me the fash salute”.
He reported the incident to the police on the advice of Tariq Butt, a Greater Manchester Police inspector.
“They were shouting about Holocaust denial and saying they had proof on their phones that it didn’t happen,” Mr Solomon said.
The abuse lasted for more than 10 minutes. Mr Solomon wrote on Twitter
Abused: Marlon Solomon
that he “wasn’t going to post it because I’d obvs had a few and had embarrassingly lost it by this point but while these people exist, I am proud to be British and Jewish, this country IS better than them and stand up to fascists. Always.”
Speaking to the JC, he said: “I was very upset and tearful afterwards and was thinking about all the things I wish I had said.
“I also felt really angry. When I played the video to my friend they said it was important to share it even if I wasn’t happy with what I said in the moment because it is important for people to see that this happens.”
He said it was the first time that he had directly experienced overt antisemitism.
“The political climate right now is so grim,” Mr Solomon said, “but people like that have had antisemitism ingrained in them. When I reported it to the police they were very shocked.”
Mr Solomon, who had been out celebrating a friend’s 40th birthday, said he had been encouraged by “thousands of messages of support” he has received.
“It has been heartening to receive messages from all kinds of people, even those who I am politically at odds with. It has been nice to put politics aside, although we know we get all the solidarity we want when the abuse comes from the far right.”
Mr Solomon has performed his award-winning one-man show about antisemitism, Conspiracy Theory: A Lizard’s Tale, at venues around the UK.
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I was upset and angry afterwards… the political climate is so grim’