Police might launch probe after Jewish man is ‘hounded out’ of gig

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that it might examine an incident at London‘s Soho Theatre involving a comic who demanded {that a} Jewish viewers member go away his present as a result of he refused to face up and applaud a Palestine flag.

‘Absurdist’ comic Paul Currie is accused of encouraging the group to chant ‘get the f*** out’ and ‘free Palestine‘ at Israeli ticketholder Liahav Eitan on the central London theatre on Saturday evening.

Mr Eitan, who was out celebrating his thirty third birthday with a pal, has instructed MailOnline how he feared that Currie was going to ‘punch’ him and that he was left terrified by the ‘mob mentality’ of the group.

The stunning incident occurred in entrance of round 200 individuals on the finish of Currie’s one-hour present when he pulled out a Ukraine flag after which a Palestine flag earlier than demanding the group give a standing ovation and applaud.

Audience members have been left feeling ‘uneasy’ when he then confronted Mr Eitan and his pal as a result of they stayed sat down. He then instructed them to go away his present and led pro-Palestine chants as they fled the venue throughout the stage.

Currie, who carried out hours after attending a pro-Palestine rally in London, has doubled down on his act by sharing reward for his incendiary routine. 

He reposted an Instagram story from one other comedian final evening which mentioned: ‘Thanks @paulcurriecomedian for a tremendous present on Saturday and for unapologetically calling for a ceasefire now.’

Following the stunning scenes on the theatre, which is a former synagogue, a Met Police spokesman instructed MailOnline: ‘We are conscious of the incident that occurred on the Soho Theatre on Saturday night.

‘We perceive why it was upsetting for these concerned and we observe the venue has issued an announcement confirming they’re trying into what occurred. A report was submitted to police on Monday and enquiries are ongoing.’

Speaking completely to MailOnline on Monday, Mr Eitan, who moved from Israel to London 5 years in the past, mentioned: ‘I do not assume theatres ought to ebook this particular person [Currie]. He appeared violent and harmful.’

The software program engineer, whose seats have been behind Currie, added: ‘The solely approach out was via the stage. 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 acquired out his Palestine flag once more and shouted “motherf***er you’ll have to watch it again on your way out”.’

Mr Eitan and his pal fled from the Soho Theatre to Bloomsbury in a bid to maneuver away from the venue, the place the group have been spilling out and a few of them have been giving them ‘unfriendly glances’.

He continued: ‘From the viewers, we have been largely scared. We wished to get out of the of the scenario. 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 wished 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 form of approach like I assumed it actually mirrored on him relatively than on us.’

Recalling how the evening unfolded, Mr Eitan defined how he and his pal 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 mentioned that whereas the present was ‘weird’, the whole lot was superb till Currie unfurled the flags and requested the viewers to face up. 

He mentioned he did not imagine it was honest to check the Palestine and Ukraine conflicts however he simply stayed sat and did not do something.

The incident comes amid heightened tensions because the Israel-Hamas battle rages on. 

Mr Eitan continued: ‘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 acquired 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 usually shares pro-Palestine content material on social media, is then mentioned to have proven his appreciation to the group for coming earlier than sarcastically thanking Mr Eitan and his pal for not standing up and clapping.

Mr Eitan mentioned that Currie ‘lingered’ on them for round 5 to 10 seconds till he responded: ‘Thank you for that Palestine flag’.

Currie then appeared ‘fairly stunned’ and requested Mr Eitan if he was being sarcastic.

‘Then he mentioned one thing like, ‘Okay, properly, you are welcome. You’re welcome for the Palestine flag. It was a part of the present.’

‘And then he got here again to me once more and mentioned, “Did you enjoy the show?” I mentioned, “Yes, up until that point”. And he mentioned, “Ah up until that point”.

‘Then he simply turns again to me and begins screaming, ‘I’m from Belfast. I do know the whole lot about ceasefires. Ceasefire now, get the f*** out of my theatre. Get out, get the f*** out of my present, motherf***ers.’

Mr Eitan mentioned he then requested his pal if they need to seize their issues and go earlier than they calmly tried to go away.  

‘Unfortunately, when the whole crowd was nonetheless inside, the one approach out was via the stage,’ he added.

Coming shut with the comic on stage, Mr Eitan mentioned Currie began a ‘public chant of ‘ceasefire now, and free Palestine’ as he ‘tried to incite the group’.

He added: ‘I did not take a look at him on the way in which out. We simply left.’

Mr Eitan mentioned Currie ought to ‘definitely’ be reprimanded for his ‘unreasonable and unprofessional behaviour’.

The Soho Theatre has apologised for the ‘upset and harm’ attributable to the incident to a few of their clients and shall be investigating what occurred.

They wrote: ‘We are sorry and saddened by an incident that occurred at our venue on the finish of a efficiency of Paul Currie: Shtoom on Saturday 10 of February which has prompted upset and harm to members of viewers attending and others.

‘We take this very significantly and are trying into the element of what occurred as totally, as sensitively, and as shortly as we will.

‘It is vital to us that Soho Theatre is welcoming and inclusive place for all.’

Campaign Against Antisemitism mentioned they’re aiding Jewish company who have been allegedly hounded out of the Soho Theatre in London.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism mentioned: ‘What the Jewish audience-members have recounted is atrocious, and we’re working with them and our legal professionals 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 will need to have no place in central London in 2024.’

The Israel-Hamas battle was sparked by the Palestinian terror group’s October 7 assault on southern Israel, which resulted within the deaths of 1,400 Israelis, largely civilians.

The Hamas-ruled territory’s well being ministry says Israel’s offensive has killed not less than 28,340 individuals in Gaza, largely ladies and kids. 

MailOnline has contacted Paul Currie for remark.