A Jewish couple told last night of their shock after being thrown out of a comedy gig and branded “baby killers” for shouting out a joke about Israel.
The couple said the way they were treated at Reginald D Hunter’s stand-up comedy concert in Edinburgh last Sunday amounted to “absolute hatred”.
According to the woman, the audience at the Fringe show had “hate in their eyes” and turned on them, saying the couple feared they were “going to attack us and beat us up.”
The British-born couple, who recently made Aliyah – the process by which a Jew moves to Israel – feel their native country is no longer a safe place for British Jews amid a recent rise in anti-Jewish sentiment.
The duo, who wish to remain anonymous, were attacked by both the American comedian and the audience after they ‘politely’ booed the actor for his joke about Israel, calling the joke ‘not funny’.
Reginald D Hunter’s East Renfrewshire show cancelled after row
But after the 55-year-old stand-up comedian told them, “I’ve been waiting all summer for people like you,” other people in the audience at Assembly George Square Studios began chanting “baby killers” and “genocidal maniacs.”
The woman said, “Normally I’m a very strong person.
‘But it was horrible. Worse than horrible. Nobody in that audience of 300-plus people – nobody – had the balls to stand up and say, “Stop this.”
‘It should have been a wonderful holiday, but now I feel miserable.’
Her husband, who is disabled, added: ‘You can’t be sure Jews will always be safe in the UK.
‘As much as Jews in this country love Britain, they will always carry a rucksack in case they have to flee.’
The wife admitted that she didn’t like the show from the start, while her husband felt that he should remain seated due to his mobility issues.
However, halfway through Hunter’s performance, the comedian told a joke about a Channel 5 documentary on domestic abuse, saying: ‘It’s like being married to Israel.’
Despite a burst of laughter, the husband replied curtly, “Not funny.”
He explained: ‘It’s a comedy show, so normally you’re allowed to boo people.’
‘Good comedians must be able to handle booing without it degenerating into pure hatred.’
But the mood in the room immediately changed. Hunter responded with: ‘I’ve been waiting for people like you all summer, where the f*** have you been?’
According to her wife, the faces of the people in the audience looked as if they wanted to attack and beat us.
She added: ‘There was so much hate in their eyes – angry that we dared to live.’
Hunter grinned, spurred on by the hostility in the room. He added: “You can say you don’t find it funny, but when you say it to a room full of people laughing, you look ridiculous.”
According to the couple, the comedian then raised his fists in the air as if he was getting into a fight and said he would meet them “outside.”
Incredibly, the couple – who left the show because they were disgusted rather than scared by the crowd – had no intention of reporting their ordeal to the police.
But the scandalous incident was brought to light by a newspaper reviewer who described the show, Fluffy Fluffy Beavers, as “the most unpleasant comedy performance” he had ever attended, giving the program just one star.
That led to a police investigation, but last night officers confirmed, after reviewing all the information gathered, that ‘no crime’ had been committed at the comedy performance.
The woman said she was shocked by the hearing care professional’s bullying behavior
Hunter has since said he regrets the “unfortunate incident.”
His remaining performances at the venue – which has apologized to the couple – will go ahead as planned.
However, the comedian’s upcoming performance at the Eastwood Theatre in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, has been cancelled due to the uproar.
East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure, which owns the Eastwood Theatre, said it had cancelled the September 28 performance due to Hunter’s “controversial comments”.
The couple who were assaulted in Edinburgh say they now want to use their platform to tackle the rising tide of antisemitism and anti-Israel racism in Britain.
The woman added: “I have an important message I want to get across, and that is that people need to stand up and not allow hate to win.
‘I have always spoken out, whether it was on Jewish issues or not.
“I hate bullies and I believe that silence only helps the aggressor.”