Fry condemns the rise in antisemitism and the “real fear” felt by the Jewish community in Britain.
Before he heads over to ITV to bring back to screens the game show Jeopardy! self-declared atheist and humanist Stephen Fry will deliver the 2023 Alternative Christmas Message with an impassioned plea for us all to recognise and call out antisemitism for the racism it is.
Moved to speak following the alarming rise of antisemitism in the UK following the October 7th Hamas attacks and the subsequent response from Israel, Fry reveals he has been driven to overtly claim his Jewish heritage to stand up to antisemitism and “hateful abuse”.
In the deeply personal speech, Fry celebrates how far Britain has come in accepting and tolerating differences since his youth. He reveals that growing up he feared he would not be accepted for his sexuality but that he never suspected it would be his Jewish heritage that would make him afraid of how others behaved.
He says, “One truth about myself however, that I never thought for one single second would ever be an issue about which I had any cause to worry in this country, was that I’m a Jew.”
Quoting the Metropolitan Police statistics on the 1350% increase in reported incidents of antisemitism in London since October 7th, Fry lists, “Shop windows smashed, Stars of David and swastikas daubed on walls of Jewish properties, synagogues and cemeteries. Jewish schools have been forced to close.”
Adding “There is real fear stalking the Jewish neighbourhoods of Britain. Jewish people here are becoming fearful of showing themselves. In Britain, in 2023. Can you imagine, Jews afraid to be themselves in the open for fear of reprisal?”
Whilst Stephen Fry grieves that Jews feel unsafe in Britain in 2023, he is relieved his grandparents are not alive to witness the upsurge in antisemitism in the country they fled to for safety. He states, “My Jewish grandparents loved Britain, believing that Jews were more welcome here than in most countries. I am glad they aren’t alive now to read newspaper stories that would have reminded them of the 1930’s Europe they left. They believed Britishness meant being fair and decent, but what can be more unfair or indecent than race hatred, whether antisemitism, Islamophobia or any kind?”
In a rousing plea for solidarity, Fry calls on all of us to stand up to antisemitism as we would any form of racism stating, “Standing upright means speaking up and calling out venomous slurs and hateful abuse wherever you encounter them.” He adds “Knowing and loving this country as I do, I don’t believe that most Britons are ok living in a society that judges hatred of Jews to be the one acceptable form of racism. So speak up, stand with us, be proud to be Jewish or Jew-ish – or, if not Jewish at all, proud to have us as much a part of this great nation as any other minority, as any of you.”
First airing in 1993, Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Message has served as an alternative to the monarch’s annual televised address to the nation to bring viewers a thought-provoking message that is pertinent to the events of the past year.
Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer, Ian Katz:
“It’s inevitable that the horrific events in Israel and Gaza have caused strong feelings across the world but the sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents in this country has been profoundly shocking and left many British Jews feeling fearful and isolated. I hope Stephen’s brave and personal intervention will draw attention to a form of racism that does not always attract the same concern and condemnation as other forms of hate and remind us that we all have a role to play in defending British values of respect and tolerance.”
The message has previously featured a varied selection of presenters, including the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; whistle-blower Edward Snowden; Afghan war veteran Major Andrew Stockton; William Pooley, the British nurse who survived Ebola; Adam Hills; Katie Piper; Quentin Crisp; the Reverend Jesse Jackson; Doreen and Neville Lawrence; children who survived the Grenfell Tower disaster; The Simpsons; 9/11 survivor Genelle Guzman; former speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow; Danny Dyer, a ‘deepfake’ digitally created depiction of Her Majesty The Queen, Tom Daley OBE, and most recently, in 2022, from Ameca, one of the world’s most advanced robots, who delivered a speech generated entirely by AI.
The Alternative Christmas Message will air at 5.10pm on Christmas Day on Channel 4. Jeopardy! returns to ITV1, STV and ITVX / STV Player from Monday 1st January 2024
