Israeli TV star hits back against Zionist trolls

Poor celebrities. Hugh Laurie, who starred in Israeli spy thriller series Tehran for Israeli public channel Kan 11, has seemingly disavowed Zionism. As one can expect, the Zionists are throwing the dummy out of the pram over this.

Tribute pompts backlash

On 17 February, Laurie tweeted a tribute to Dana Eden, a co-creator and producer of Tehran, who recently passed away, sharing following words:

Eden died on Sunday, reportedly taking her own life. It’s a terrible thing. She was brilliant, funny, and an exceptional leader. The Canary extends love and condolences to her nearest and dearest.

Laurie’s tribute drew criticisms of his work – criticised for fictionalising the life of a Mossad agent in Iran, normalizing Israel’s infractions, and mourning a figure associated with Israel’s “propaganda arm.” And on the subject of Gaza and the plight of its people, Laurie has nothing to say.

Two days after the social media storm, which seemingly touched a nerve, he posted the following defence:

I used to hate blocking people,” but “I’m older now.” Again, he was condemned for working for the show and for his racist “blackface” in a previous series called Jeeves and Wooster.

Then came his apparent disavowal of Zionism and its army of digital trolls.

The Zionists were loud and rattled. How dare he? How dare a public figure refuse to align himself with a settler colonial project after reaping the fame of  starring in Zionist propaganda?

GB News, Daily Mail, Spectator, the Telegraph, and Jeremy Vine contributor Angela Epstein lamented that Laurie was not a Zionist.

Angela Epstein is a Gaza genocide denier, and regular critic of Corbyn, Sultana, and Polanski.

Rabbi Litvin called Laurie “pathetic” for his disassociation from Zionism.

To which Laurie replied:

Rabbi. I did no such thing, nor would I ever. Please re-read in the morning.

Jonathan Sacerdoti’s Spectator piece was the most rambling of all – insisting that Laurie must “own the full genocidal implications” of not being a Zionist – as if opposing a settler-colonial project were the real violence.

Let’s talk about Zionism baby

The question of how to talk about Zionism – the explicitly colonialist ideology of the settler-state of Israel – has frazzled many a celebrity.

Some, like Laurie, are learning the hard way that involvement in Israeli TV comes with ideological strings attached.

He didn’t expect mudslinging by the Zionists funding the series Tehran, incensed by his lack of allegiance.

So, while, Laurie figures out his allegiances, let’s take a moment to appreciate the film industry figures using their platforms to call out Israel’s genocide.

These include Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem and Brian Cox who recently signed the open letter condemning the Berlin Film Festival’s silence on Gaza. It seems that here’s hope yet, the world is taking note Israel.

Featured image via the Canary