This Much Is True

To some extent, my documentaries have allowed me to connect to people at the opposite end of my political spectrum. They have helped me to see people in their entirety. My 2017 documentary Miriam’s Big American Adventure, for example, took me on a road trip through the American heartland from Chicago to New Orleans, meeting real people from both sides of the tracks.

The American South is a courteous place, but many of the people are still racist and abusive. Many of them call themselves Christians — evangelicals. I call them ‘evil-gelicals’. The true message of that great socialist Jesus Christ hasn’t got through to them. Why are some Americans afraid of Mexicans? Why do they not see them the way that I saw them — as a clever, artistic, funny, proud people? Why do they believe the lies? I always try to reconcile the two halves of the people I meet. I am compelled to do it, especially when I profoundly disagree with them; I have to try to understand.

Many of the people I met were sweet, but lacked powers of analysis. We need to encourage people to think critically about their country and its relation to the world. I am still in touch with the Flanders, one of the American families I met in 2017. They are evangelical Christians and creationists yet nonetheless I know that they are good people. Jennifer Flanders cried real tears for me because I’m an atheist and I’m going to hell. How can I explain to her that not only am I not going to hell, but that there is no such thing? But I keep trying, and so does she.

More recently, I did a conversation piece with Vanessa Redgrave in the Guardian. We talked about theatre mostly but of course politics came into it. After the piece was published, I looked at the comments online. Most were complimentary, but one said: ‘Two antisemites talking to each other. No, thank you.’ I am not an antisemite, and neither is Vanessa. That, however, is what happens when you criticise Israel; you’re instantly persona non grata. You’re not allowed to be critical of Israel, although Israel deserves criticism of the most severe kind. The Law of Return states that any Jew, born anywhere in the world, can go and live in Israel. No Palestinian can. That is wrong. Let us see the humanity in the Other; let’s not start with terror and murder. When you go to Israel, visit Palestine too. See for yourselves how Israelis behave to the Palestinians. It is not acceptable.

I believe that people have to face up to the moral implications of their actions, and not sit on a fence, and I’ve made my choice. I don’t sit on the fence. I don’t want to be somebody who says, ‘On one hand… and then on the other hand…’ My country right or wrong doesn’t work for me. I’m on the side of Humanity; if I see a wrong, I feel I must do my best to right it. That is who I am.

Speaking Out

Four days before my eighth birthday, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the creation of the State of Israel. I remember the cautious celebrations at home.

My parents were troubled by Zionism, more because they felt that Jews having their own country would increase antisemitism, rather than from a sense of the wrong done to the Palestinians. Because of my public refusal to support the State of Israel, I have become unpopular with other Jews. It’s difficult not to be a Zionist when you’re Jewish; there are many who think I’m betraying my people. I’ve been vilified on social media, labelled a fascist, an antisemite, a terrorist, a self-hating Jew. I’m not welcome in certain parts of North London, where my relatives live. Eyes narrow, heads turn away briskly when I enter the synagogue or the kosher restaurant; conversation stops. Last year, my lovely cousin, Rabbi Roderick Young, invited me to his Zoom Seder. Another participant, when she noticed my name, put on the Zoom chat that she couldn’t stay at the same table as me. And she left. Roderick was upset, so was I. I’m not sure what she gained by her action.

My position on Israel has lost me friends. Naturally this makes me sad, but I have to tell the truth: I’ve seen with my own eyes how the State of Israel is abusing the Palestinians. I doubt the removal of the accused ex-prime minister Netanyahu will change the situation. He is on trial for corruption charges. He is not alone: since 1948, one president, one prime minister, eleven ministers, seventeen Knesset members and one chief rabbi have been found guilty of various offences, from rape to bribery, and been fined or imprisoned. It is a shameful record; it proves that the wrong people are being elected into government. Israel is not alone in that!