London feels like a "pretty unsafe" place for Jewish people, according to the head of an organisation that fights anti-Semitism.
The Soho Theatre has apologised after Jewish audience members were reportedly "hounded out" of a performance by comedian Paul Currie.
London feels like a "pretty unsafe" place for Jewish people, according to the head of an organisation that fights anti-Semitism.
It comes as the Soho Theatre have apologised after Jewish audience members were reportedly "hounded out" of a performance by comedian Paul Currie.
Soho Theatre, which is in the capital's West End and a former synagogue, said it was saddened by the incident at the end of the performance.
"Many Jews are quite rightly terrified"
Stephen Silverman, from Campaign Against Anti Semitism, said it was a distressing experience.
"You can imagine going for a pleasant evening out and suddenly find that you were the target of racist abuse and harrassment from the stage.. with the audience whipped up into joining in. They're shocked, they are really shaken... as indeed is the Jewish community."
"We are seeing, almost on a daily basis now, incidents such as these and it is making London in particular, but the UK in general, feel like a pretty unsafe place for Jews at the moment.
"There is a threat to Jewish life now in the UK that we have not seen for a very very long time. Certainly not since the end of the Second World War. Many Jews are quite rightly terrified."
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it was "assisting Jewish guests who were reportedly hounded out" of the theatre.
The organisation said it understood an Israeli man and his partner both left, followed by a Jewish party-of-four in an incident where the Palestinian flag was produced at the end of the performance.
The CAA, which said it had been in touch with one of the Jewish audience members who left, reported that people had been encouraged to stand for both the Ukrainian and Palestinian flags.
The Israeli man was then reportedly asked why he had not stood up and, according to the CAA, said that he had enjoyed the show until the Palestinian flag appeared.
The CAA said the Israeli man had been "yelled at" by the comedian to leave, and that others in the audience then shouted "Get out" and "Free Palestine".
In a statement on their website, Soho Theatre said: "We are sorry and saddened by an incident that took place at our venue at the end of a performance of Paul Currie: Shtoom on Saturday February 10 which has caused upset and hurt to members of audience attending and others.
"We take this very seriously and are looking into the detail of what happened as thoroughly, as sensitively, and as quickly as we can. It is important to us that Soho Theatre is a welcoming and inclusive place for all."
The theatre is a registered charity and the Charity Commission has said it is assessing information "to determine if there is a role" for the regulator.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “We are aware of the incident that took place at the Soho Theatre on Saturday evening.
“We understand why it was upsetting for those involved and we note the venue has issued a statement confirming they are looking into what took place.
“A report was submitted to police on Monday and enquiries are ongoing.”
Mr Currie has been contacted for comment.