I am appalled by your politically motivated decision to boycott the Jewish Film Festival

because of its association with the Israeli Government. As an artistic director you more than
anyone should know how important it is to uphold the principle of art transcending politics
and not give in to the Zeitgeist of anti-Israel bashing and populist, uninformed anti-Israel
posturing. There are two possible reasons for your action, neither of which does you any
credit whatsoever.
Firstly, presumably you object to the Israeli government taking steps to defend its citizens
from murderous attacks by a group of terrorists. I know it is not politically correct to call
Hamas terrorists, no doubt you would prefer to call them freedom fighters. They are
terrorists because they deliberately (please note the special emphasis on that word) target
civilians. The number of rockets fired into Israel is three times the number that were
dropped by the Nazis on London during the Blitz. Given your skewed logic, you would say
that the British government should have not been allowed to defend British citizens from
such terror and death. No doubt you see these rockets as home-made fireworks. Let me
remind you that the 7/7 bombers in this country used home-made bombs and we all know
that tragically these killed 52 people so home-made or not, they were lethal. And these
rockets are not fireworks, they are sophisticated weapons smuggled in from Iran. Tell me
honestly, what is about the idea of Jews defending themselves that inspires such visceral
anger and hatred in you? Even if you think that the rockets are not a serious threat and that
Israels response is disproportionate, what about the attack tunnels that Hamas
constructed in order to carry out multiple terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens? These were a
very real danger and it was planned to use them to slaughter thousands of unarmed
civilians, can you honestly say that you support that? (Never mind, that you as a British
citizen helped fund the construction of these tunnels through the aid given by the British
government to help the Gazans build up their infrastructure). Denial of the right of the
Israelis/Jews to defend themselves from attack means that you support Hamas and their
genocidal programme. But even if you dont care about Jews being murdered but purport
to care about the plight of Gazans, how can you possibly support what Hamas is doing to
their own people - using them as human shields and stealing the aid donated to them to
bolster their own personal bank accounts?

The other reason why you may not wish to host the festival is because you fear the mob
whose Pavlovian response whenever an Israeli cultural production or product appears is to
scream, shout and threaten outside. If that is the case, shame on your cowardice. Because
make no mistake, the Jews are only the first target of the mob. Let me be brutally honest
here and say that by mob I mean the malign forces of radical Islam and their left-wing useful
cohorts. You want ISIS in this country? Then go ahead and capitulate to them. By
boycotting Israel and Jews (and they are the same thing because if Israel wasnt a Jewish
country you wouldnt give a monkeys toss about Gaza just as you dont give a monkeys
toss about all those Christians being slaughtered in Iraq or the Muslims being slaughtered in
Syria), you are giving succour to those whose aims are the destruction of Western society
and values. Remember, they start with the Saturday crowd but end with the Sunday crowd.
Your decision disgusts me not least because it fuels the flames of anti-Semitism that are
sweeping across Europe at the moment. In 1933 when the Nazis came to power they
started by excluding Jews from the cultural and economic life of the country and we all
know how that ended up. You, by your decision are emulating those tactics and you too
bear responsibility for the violence that is being directed against all Jews. My family have
lived in this country for nearly five centuries, I and my children no longer feel safe here
because people like you justify and condone the hatred being directed against Jews. I hope
you are proud of yourself.
In 2013 you said, "To me it really symbolises what theatre should be about: holding up
different lenses to the world, and letting the unheard voice be part of the
mainstream. Yeah right. Maybe you should practice what you preach.
I would be grateful if you would remove me from your mailing list, I have no intention of
supporting an organisation that gives tacit agreement and encouragement to the genocide
of Jews which by your boycott you are doing.