{"id":269195,"date":"2025-07-17T11:35:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T11:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/269195\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T11:35:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T11:35:11","slug":"is-it-making-a-difference-absolutely-uk-celebrities-rally-for-gaza-israel-palestine-conflict-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/269195\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Is it making a difference? Absolutely\u2019: UK celebrities rally for Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News"},"content":{"rendered":"

London, United Kingdom \u2013<\/strong> Khaled Abdalla remembers sitting on his father\u2019s shoulders as a three-year-old, peering over a sea of heads and waving flags as chants of \u201cfree Palestine\u201d rose around him.<\/p>\n

It was the early 1980s, a time when hearing \u201cPalestine\u201d was rare in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

The details of those moments in Glasgow are faint, but he remembers how important the protest felt to his father and the crowds around them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had a relationship with protest for Palestinian liberation since then,\u201d\u00a0Abdalla told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

Decades later, the Egyptian British actor \u2013 most known for his roles in The Kite Runner and The Crown \u2013 is still marching. But now he carries the weight of his public platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter October 7, my first act was at The Crown premiere in LA, with \u2018Ceasefire Now\u2019 written on my hand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know if that would immediately terminate my career. But it opened up a space far more positive than I expected. In standing up, I found my people, and my people found me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, Abdalla has used every stage he can. At the Emmys, he wrote \u201cNever Again\u201d on his palm before stepping onto the red carpet.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach time I\u2019ve done something like that, there has been fear,\u201d he said, adding that while being cancelled does not worry him, he sometimes feels uncertain about how his protests might be received.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first protest was on my father\u2019s shoulders when I was three. I don\u2019t want that to be the fate of my grandchildren.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharing opinions about the onslaught in Gaza, particularly as a public figure, is fraught with tension in the UK, as criticising Israel\u2019s military actions can lead to accusations of anti-Semitism.<\/p>\n

Israel launched its latest war on Gaza after Hamas, the group that governs the enclave, led an incursion into Israel during which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken captive. Since then, Israeli bombardment of Gaza has killed almost 60,000 people and destroyed the majority of civilian sites.<\/p>\n

\"WriterWriter and comedian Alexei Sayle addresses a protest in support of Palestine and Lebanon in Trafalgar Square on October 19, 2024 in London, England [Guy Smallman\/Getty Images]<\/p>\n

For 72-year-old Alexei Sayle, a veteran British Jewish comedian who has long been an outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights, silence is not an option.<\/p>\n

In December 2023, his \u201calternative Christmas message\u201d posted to his social media channels went viral, as his words about politicians\u2019 alleged lies and complicity in Israel\u2019s assault resonated with thousands.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was clear from very early on that Gaza was going to be different,\u201d Sayle told Al Jazeera. \u201cThe Israelis were going to do what they are doing, really. And nobody seemed likely to stop them. This was going to be another step forward in the Zionist project \u2013 the expulsion or murder, the ethnic cleansing or elimination of the Palestinian people, with the complicity of the West.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you remain silent during this holocaust, then you would have remained silent during that holocaust. I think the comparison is justified.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he has no fears when rallying for Palestine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the younger artists who risk cancellation by speaking out,\u201d he said. \u201cAs an elderly Jew in show business, I\u2019m in a position like Miriam Margolyes or Michael Rosen \u2013 a sort of protected status,\u201d he added, referring to the British actor and children\u2019s author, respectively, both of whom are Jewish and have condemned Israel\u2019s war.<\/p>\n

Comedians and artists are used to holding a mirror up, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout history, comedians have been the ones to point out the excesses of government. That is our role. Politicians have sacrificed whatever moral compassion or humanity they had. There is clearly a moral void at the heart of this government.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are frightened cowards. They care about their job more than they care about children being murdered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even so, he knows activism has limits.<\/p>\n

\u201cPositive change does not come just from demonstrations,\u201d he said. \u201cThere needs to be a relentless focus on political gain and political power as well, and that is the only way that life will get better, both for the people of Britain and for those abroad, whose lives we are complicit in destroying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abdalla shared this view.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it stopping the genocide? No, not yet,\u201d he said. \u201cBut is it making a difference? Absolutely.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a shift in global consciousness, but there hasn\u2019t yet been an avalanche\u2026 It\u2019s our job to make that avalanche happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sayle and Abdalla are preparing for another weekend of protest mixed with art. They will be among 20 artists, comedians, musicians and humanitarians at Voices of Solidarity, a one-night-only fundraiser for Palestine, on July 19 in London.<\/p>\n

The singer Paloma Faith, doctor Ghassan Abu Sittah, actor Juliet Stevenson and comedians Sami Abu Wardeh and Tadhg Hickey are also on the lineup.<\/p>\n

As Gaza continues to be bombed, more Britons are critical of Israeli policies.<\/p>\n

Last month, a survey carried out by YouGov and commissioned by the Action for Humanity charity and the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) advocacy group found that 55 percent of Britons are against Israel\u2019s aggression. A significant number of those opponents \u2013 82 percent \u2013 said Israel\u2019s actions amount to genocide.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, there is a move away [from politicians], particularly because of frustration with the lack of action,\u201d said Dina Matar, head of the Centre for Global Media and Communications at SOAS.<\/p>\n

She said the turn towards artists for moral clarity reflects public disillusionment with formal politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe implications might not be seen immediately, but will be reflected in public rejection of official party politics \u2026 We need to continue efforts by all \u2013 and here thanks to all these artists \u2013 to educate people about the aims of these policies and to make clear the association between capitalism and the settler-colonial state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacob Mukherjee, a professor of political communication at Goldsmiths University in London,\u00a0said artists and cultural figures are stepping into a political vacuum, a role shaped by history.<\/p>\n

Since the counterculture movements of the 1960s, musicians and artists have often voiced popular discontent, he said. This is partly due to what sociologists describe as the inherently oppositional and radical culture of artistic spaces, and partly because art is capable of expressing the public mood.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the UK, like much of Western Europe and North America, governments have largely remained loyal to what they perceive to be the wishes and interests of the USA,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But while artists can voice discontent and spread awareness, \u201cthere are limits to what artists and cultural movements can do.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout effective new parties, the disconnect between public opinion and political elites will only grow,\u201d he said. \u201cHistory shows us political reform needs political movements, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PalomaPaloma Faith speaks as pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest through central London on June 21, 2025 [Isabel Infantes\/Reuters]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"London, United Kingdom \u2013 Khaled Abdalla remembers sitting on his father\u2019s shoulders as a three-year-old, peering over a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[748,393,299,4884,7424,12,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-269195","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-israel-palestine-conflict","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-northern-ireland","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114868370192110166","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}