Jewish man hounded out of gig by ‘pro-Palestine’ comic speaks out
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A terrified Jewish theatregoer who was hounded out of London‘s Soho Theatre when a comic unfurled a Palestinian flag and led chants telling him to depart has advised MailOnline how he feared the comedian was going to ‘punch’ him.
‘Absurdist’ comic Paul Currie is alleged to have inspired the 200-strong crowd to chant ‘get the f*** out’ and ‘free Palestine‘ at Liahav Eitan on the central London theatre – which was a synagogue – on Saturday night time.
Mr Eitan, who was out celebrating his thirty third birthday with a good friend, has revealed how he was left frightened of the ‘mob mentality’ and has known as for Currie to be banned from theatres.
Audience members have been left feeling ‘uneasy’ when Currie, who carried out hours after attending a pro-Palestine rally in London, pulled out a Ukraine flag adopted by a Palestine flag on the finish of his one-hour present and demanded a standing ovation.
He then confronted Mr Eitan and his good friend as a result of they stayed sat down and advised him that they had loved the present till the Palestine flag got here out. Currie has not responded to requests for remark.
Speaking solely to MailOnline, Mr Eitan, who moved from Israel to London 5 years in the past, stated: ‘I do not suppose theatres ought to ebook this individual. He appeared violent and harmful.’
The software program engineer, whose seats have been behind the stage, added: ‘We needed to really get on the stage fairly near him – and I used to be fairly afraid that he’d throw a punch as a result of he was nonetheless cursing and shouting.
‘He obtained out his Palestine flag once more and shouted “motherf***er you’ll have to watch it again on your way out”.’
Liahav Eitan (pictured) was hounded out of London’s Soho Theatre after comic Paul Currie inspired his viewers to chant ‘get the f*** out’ and ‘free Palestine’
Paul Currie is an ‘absurdist’ comic who’s from Belfast. He is alleged to have advised an Israeli man and his buddies to depart his present
Mr Eitan and his good friend fled from the Soho Theatre to Bloomsbury in a bid to maneuver away from the venue, the place the group have been spilling out quickly after they left.
He continued: ‘From the viewers, we have been largely scared. We needed to get out of the of the state of affairs. It appeared like a little bit of a mob mentality that might go bitter any second.
‘So we have been simply afraid of violence. That’s why we did not linger proper? We simply needed to get out of there.’
Mr Eitan added: ‘[We were] largely scared about how that room would possibly flip in opposition to us. From the comic, I did not really feel any kind of means like I believed it actually mirrored on him relatively than on us.’
Recalling how the night time unfolded, Mr Eitan defined how he and his good friend had booked last-minute tickets to see Currie as a result of that they had time to kill earlier than a birthday dinner at 9.30pm.
Mr Eitan stated that whereas the present was ‘weird’, the whole lot was advantageous till Currie unfurled the flags and requested the viewers to face up. He stated he did not consider it was truthful to match the Palestine and Ukraine conflicts however he simply stayed sat and did not do something.
He defined: ‘If I used to be nearer to the door, perhaps I might have left at that stage. But because it was, I simply waited 5 minutes for the for the present to finish.
‘When it ended, numerous the individuals obtained up and clapped. There was a little bit of a standing ovation there and me and my buddies simply stayed sat down quietly and never clapping.
‘I did not imply to make any level of it proper? I simply did not actually get pleasure from that bit.’
Currie, who typically shares pro-Palestine content material, is then stated to have proven his appreciation to the group for coming earlier than sarcastically thanking Mr Eitan and his good friend for not standing up and clapping.
The Soho Theatre was the place the stunning incident occurred. It additionally was a synagogue
The Soho Theatre issued a full apology for the incident and stated that they’d be investigating
Mr Eitan stated that Currie ‘lingered’ on them for round 5 to 10 seconds till he responded: ‘Thank you for that Palestine flag’.
Currie then appeared ‘fairly greatly surprised’ and requested Mr Eitan if he was being sarcastic.
‘Then he stated one thing like, “Okay, well, you’re welcome. You’re welcome for the Palestine flag. It was part of the show.”
‘And then he got here again to me once more and stated, “Did you enjoy the show?” I stated, “Yes, up until that point”. And he stated, “Ah up until that point”.
‘Then he simply turns again to me and begins screaming, “I’m from Belfast. I know everything about ceasefires. Ceasefire now, get the f*** out of my of my theatre. Get out, get the f*** out of my show, motherf***ers.”
Mr Eitan stated he then requested his good friend if they need to seize their issues and go earlier than they calmly tried to depart.
‘Unfortunately, when your complete crowd was nonetheless inside, the one means out was by way of the stage,’ he added.
Coming shut with the comic on stage, Mr Eitan stated Currie began a ‘public chant of “Ceasefire now, and free Palestine” as he ‘tried to incite the group’.
He added: ‘I did not have a look at him on the best way out. We simply left.’
The Soho Theatre has apologised for the ‘upset and damage’ brought on by the incident to a few of their clients and will likely be investigating what occurred.
They wrote: ‘We are sorry and saddened by an incident that happened at our venue on the finish of a efficiency of Paul Currie: Shtoom on Saturday 10 of February which has triggered upset and damage to members of viewers attending and others.
‘We take this very significantly and are wanting into the element of what occurred as completely, as sensitively, and as rapidly as we will.
‘It is necessary to us that Soho Theatre is welcoming and inclusive place for all.’
Paul Currie at a pro-Palestine march
Campaign Against Antisemitism stated they’re aiding Jewish visitors who have been allegedly hounded out of the Soho Theatre in London.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism stated: ‘What the Jewish audience-members have recounted is atrocious, and we’re working with them and our attorneys to make sure that those that instigated and enabled it are held to account.
‘These allegations are of deeply disturbing discriminatory abuse in opposition to Jews. Comedians are rightly given broad latitude, however hounding Jews out of theatres is harking back to humanity’s darkest days, and should have no place in central London in 2024.’
MailOnline has contacted Paul Currie for remark.
