“We were prevented from going to the office essentially; our job is entertainment,” British Jewish comedian Rachel Creeger told The Jerusalem Post shortly after she announced that her show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was canceled because the venue Whistle Binkies decided it didn’t feel safe having Jewish acts.
Fellow Jewish comedian Philip Simon’s show was also canceled.
Creeger and Simon are comedy partners, but also perform separately. This would have been the ninth run of Creeger’s show, The Ultimate Jewish Mother, at the Fringe, and the fifth at this venue.
“My show is about being a Jewish mother. The message is that more unites us than divides us. Mums are just mums,” she said in an interview on Sunday.
Simon was set to perform his long-running compilation show Jew-O-Rama, which features three Jewish acts, one non-Jewish act, and one Jewish host.
“One of the things we liked about this venue is that they were always so supportive of Jewish artists,” Creeger said.
She spoke of how when she ran the same show last year, the manager of Whistle Binkies reassured her not to worry, saying the staff would protect them, and even called Simon and Creeger “our Jews.”
Concern over 'additional risk' this year, inquiries over security arrangements
Then, Creeger received a call in May from the CEO of the Free Fringe promotional organization informing her that the venue was concerned about whether there may be an “additional risk” this year, and checking if the security arrangements would be the same.
Creeger assured him that the same measures were in place, and there was no additional risk. This year, like last year, the Jewish security organization Community Security Trust was to be providing protection for the event, and police patrol times were set to coincide with the beginning and end of Jewish shows. Creeger gave the venue manager the contact number of the CST officer responsible for the area.
Everything seemed fine. The two performers carried on preparation for their shows, including marketing, flyers, and brochures, and booking the accommodation and travel.
Then, on Friday, July 18, she received another call from the CEO, again asking for details. Following this call, Creeger rang Simon and asked if he’d been spoken to as well, given that the shows were at the same venue.
Simon queried why they were taking issue with one show. Creeger once again called the CEO and asked if it was just her show that there were security concerns about, or all Jewish shows. The CEO told her it was both hers and Jew-O-Rama.
“I said let me know one way or another before 7 p.m., because I keep Shabbat.”
The CEO informed her shortly after that the venue decided it wouldn’t accommodate these two shows this year, because the “bar staff feel unsafe.”
“The staff said, ‘If you are attracting issues that need extra security, it puts everyone in the venue in danger,’” Creeger recounted. The staff had then said they would not work if Creeger and Simon performed.
Creeger was confused: There was no extra risk to staff. The only possible risk might be to her or Simon.
“We had a long working relationship with them, and there had been no indication of an actual problem. If it was a venue we had never been in before, it still would have been bad, but one we’ve been in and out of since 2018. It’s like they pulled the rug out from under our feet.”
The CEO explained that he had informed the venue that canceling two shows by Jewish acts and not canceling others would seem antisemitic, but the venue did not budge.
It added that there was “terrible graffiti last year, which was very problematic and very threatening,” and which led it to need to repaint every three days. When Creeger probed, they said it was Free Palestine graffiti.
Creeger asked the CEO to make sure their slots weren’t booked up, “because why should the venue profit from alcohol sales after they canceled Jewish artists?” However, the slots were filled almost immediately.
Then, on July 25, Simon was informed that one of his shows at another venue was also pulled due to his views being in “significant conflict” with the venue’s BDS stance.
While nothing in Simon’s act related to politics, the venue said his social media conflicted with its stance on Israel, which Creeger said made no sense, as his comments are the same as last year, when his show was allowed to go ahead.
Right now, the two of them feel “distressed” and “anxious,” Creeger said. “It was a huge betrayal; we are both barely sleeping.” They are looking for alternative venues, but, at the last minute, it is proving difficult.
She also set up a support group for Jewish performers at the Fringe, who she said are also feeling “a lot of anxiety.”
“We were prevented from going to the office essentially,” she said. “Our job is entertainment.”
Nevertheless, she told the Post that there are plenty of Jewish artists at the Fringe and called for people to go and support them.
“There are at least 50 other shows of Jewish interest; seek them out,” she said.