Actors’ union accused of ‘ill-judged’ stance on Israel
► PROTESTERS HAVE delivered an open letter to the actors’ union Equity, accusing its leaders of having a role in driving the surge in Jew-hate that gripped the UK during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Prominent Equity members – including Dame Maureen Lipman– resigned in protest after two of its bosses in May called for members to attend pro-Palestinian demonstrations in central London.
A number of Jewish creative professionals said they no longer felt safe following the statement by the union’s general secretary, Paul Fleming, and its president, Maureen Beattie.
The campaigners, who posed with their letter outside the offices of Equity on Tuesday, said their protest was specifically aimed at the position taken by Mr Fleming and Ms Beattie.
Judith Ornstein, one of the organisers of the protest, said: “How can we enjoy the theatre knowing there are creatives on stage and behind it whose union Equity has made them unsafe?”
Only five days after Hamas began rocket attacks, she said, Ms Beattie had called for sanctions against Israel, and both she and Mr Fleming had encouraged Equity members to take part in pro-Palestinian events. Ms Ornstein added: “We saw the
A union should protect and support its members
vile antisemitism and violence at proPalestine rallies.
“It’s hard to believe Paul Fleming didn’t see it. He should have seen it. A union should protect and support its members. All its members. Paul Fleming should have made that his priority.”
The two union leaders issued a statement on 20 May in which they criticised what they called “the disproportionate actions of the current Israeli government” in defending itself.
In a subsequent statement, they insisted that the Equity stance was balanced and that they stood against Hamas and antisemitism.
Ms Ornstein said that the demonstrators were calling on Paul Fleming and Maureen Beattie “to acknowledge how ill-judged and partisan their intervention has been, and also its role in escalating the upsurge in antisemitism in the UK”. The open letter said the pair should “undertake antisemitism awareness training and rebuild bridges with those union members they have let down”.