Actress Maureen Lipman has attacked the “culture of humiliation on television” in reference to the Jewish Mum of the Year series currently being aired on Channel 4.
The Pianist star told the Telegraph: “It is very damaging, with antisemitism being what it is. Not to mention that being a Jewish mother is nothing like the way they portray it.”
Gilad Shalit has given his first interview since his release almost a year ago. A clip from the interview, which was screened on Israel’s Channel 10 on Thursday evening, showed the former soldier speaking about his time in captivity.
Inherent in programmes like Channel 4's dreadful “Jewish Mother of the Year” and “Jews at Ten” is a trap common to many other manifestations of antisemitism: if Jews complain that their religion and culture is being trashed, they must be humourless. Thus Jews are twice ridiculed, once for their putative ugliness as a people, and again for not being willing to laugh at it.
H ow many Jewish mothers does it take to change a lightbulb? According to the old joke, the answer is none. “Don’t worry about me,” she says “I’ll just sit here in the dark.”
A British Jewish novelist is to write a new episode of Doctor Who to be screened next year.
Neil Gaiman is not new to the sci-fi series, having written the 2011 episode "The Doctor's Wife". Earlier this week the episode was named best dramatic presentation at the Hugo awards, science fiction's most prestigious awards ceremony.
