The Edinburgh Fringe antisemitic story is worse than you realize ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

The Edinburgh Fringe antisemitic story is worse than you realize

Jewish comedians have had their Edinburgh Fringe shows cancelled because of staff “safety concerns”, it has been claimed.

Rachel Creeger and Philip Simon were booked to perform at the Whistlebinkies venue during the festival.
Ms Creeger was set to perform her show Ultimate Jewish Mother, while Mr Simon was due to host a Jew-O-Rama of Jewish comedic talents.

However, the acts claimed they were informed that their gigs would be cancelled after bar staff at the venue expressed fears of feeling “unsafe”.

The information and news since then is much worse.

First of all the "safety" concern was not the initial complaint. The original notice that they had been canceled was based on a lie:

‘They initially said that they believed we’d held a vigil for an IDF soldier, a fallen soldier, which is a thing that just hadn’t ever happened in either of our shows,’ [Creeger] said. ‘The shows are not political; we’re not political performers, and the IDF is not a relevant subject in either show.

Organisers ‘later withdrew [that allegation] and said they understood that that didn’t actually happen’, and previously told the Jewish comics that their bar was a ‘safe space’ for them.

‘So it came as something of a shock to suddenly be told last Friday that we were no longer welcome on the site.’

After that, the venue claimed that last year there was both anti-Israel and Zionist graffiti on site surrounding the shows, which they brought no proof for (and the Zionist graffiti seems suspect to me.)

Then, after Whistlebinkies canceled their show, a different venue canceled another of Philip Simon's planned performances - because of online posts supporting victims of October 7.

A Jewish comedian has been cancelled by an Edinburgh Fringe venue after attending a vigil for victims of the Oct 7 attacks.
Philip Simon was barred from the Banshee Labyrinth pub because of alleged “rhetoric and symbology” linked to Israel.
One reason cited by the venue for cancelling his show, Shall I Compere Thee in a Funny Way?, was his attendance at a vigil held for people killed in the 2023 Hamas terror attacks.
In a message to Simon, Banshee Labyrinth said: “Our management had a duty of care to our customers and staff members to review the political statements and opinions expressed by the performer.
“We feel it is inappropriate for us to provide a platform for performers whose views and actions align with the rhetoric and symbology of groups associated with humanitarian violations.”

And what were those offensive posts?

Banshee Labyrinth told The Telegraph that it arrived at its decision after scouring Simon’s social media pages.
It said: “We routinely screen bands and performers for affiliations to, and statements that advocate for, discriminatory groups.
The alleged concerns identified by Banshee Labyrinth include Simon sharing pictures from a vigil commemorating 100 days since the attack on Israel; a message on his X account saying that it was powerful to “stand strong against terror”; and a post warning that Oct 7 rape victims were being forgotten.
Several others messages that the venue objected to were variations on calls to “bring home the hostages”, while others made fun of Greta Thunberg’s short-lived effort to travel by flotilla to Gaza.

Opposing a murderous, rapist terror group and supporting its victims is politically incorrect in today's England.

There has been no shortage of controversial acts at Fringe that brought protests. In 2023, for example, a comedian whose views on transgender issues made the staff of a club uncomfortable and forced a cancellation - but then the club reversed its position, admitting the decision was "unfair and constituted unlawful discrimination " against the performer.

There were drag shows that brought protests and required extra security, but the performers were allowed to perform and were protected.

But in one way, the worst part of this story is in what didn't happen.

The festival has over 3,000 acts at over 250 venues. But there are hundreds of other bars and clubs in the area, many of which have back rooms or other spaces that could accommodate a performer, a sound system and a small audience.

While it is obvious that the Whistlebinkies and Banshee Labyrinth were making up reasons after the fact to justify their exclusion of proud Jewish comedians, no other venues have stepped up to make a statement against antisemitism and for free speech.

If a Black performer had been canceled for obviously racist reasons, no matter how late the date or how difficult the logistics, clubs would have fought for the privilege of hosting that comedian.

Let's face it. The crowd and venues at Edinburgh might swear up and down that they hate antisemitism and love free speech, but not one of them chose to act on those principles.

Not one.