Filmmaker Ken Loach lamented that an anti-Israel event in Scotland was shut down because of pressure by “Zionist individuals.”
British filmmaker Ken Loach claimed that the cancellation of a speaking event at a Methodist church hall in Edinburgh, Scotland, with anti-Israel activist Jackie Walker was the result of pressure by “Zionist individuals” on the church’s bishop.
Speaking on Tuesday, Loach, also an anti-Israel activist, called charges of anti-Semitism leveled against anti-Israel BDS campaigners in Scotland as “exaggerated and spurious.”
He joined actress Miriam Margolyes and Scottish activists in signing an open letter, published by the Scottish Herald, calling on Bishop John Armes to reverse the decision to prevent Walker from appearing at a Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign event at a Methodist church hall in Edinburgh.
In the letter, the signatories allege, “It is now becoming clear that Zionist individuals and organizations in Scotland are working hard to stifle all debate on the war crimes and human rights abuses of the Israeli State. Bishop Armes should be aware that Zionists comprise only a small minority of Scottish Jews and certainly do not represent the Jewish community in Scotland.”
“Complaints of ‘anti-Semitism’ directed against pro-Palestinians in Scotland have consistently proved to be exaggerated and spurious,” the letter stated. “They, nevertheless, continue to be repeated with monotonous regularity, such that they have reached almost Trumpian proportions.”
Armes had blocked Jackie Walker from holding a talk at St. Columba’s Church on Monday night, saying there was a danger it could encourage abuse. The talk was to be held at the church hall after another venue had cancelled its hosting of the event.
Loach has endorsed a boycott of all cultural and sporting events supported by the Jewish state and regularly launches petitions against Israel.
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