Stephen Fry on gay pride and Jewish pride

Published: 20 December 2023

Last updated: 5 March 2024

A sneak preview of the very Jewish Christmas message the actor and broadcaster will deliver on Britain’s Channel 4 on Christmas Day.

Fry will use the forum to talk about antisemitism and Jewish pride, noting that since October 7 there have been 50 separate reported incidents of antisemitism every single day in London alone, an increase of 1350% according to the Metropolitan Police.

In an edited extract, published in advance of the address, Fry noted how he grew up expecting prejudice as a gay man but Britain has moved towards an understanding and acceptance of gay love.

“One truth about myself, however, that I never thought for one single second would ever be an issue about which I had any cause to worry in this country, was that I’m a Jew. Yes, I am a Jew. That may surprise some people. It surprises me really. I don’t think of myself as especially Jewish.

“Does it matter? I mean, I don’t really “identify as Jewish” any more than I “identify as English” or British. Then again, I know, because I’ve been warned, that I’ve been on lists of British Jews that some ultra-right wing newspapers and sites have published over the years. And I’m frankly damned if I’ll let antisemites be the ones who define me, and take ownership of the word Jew, injecting it with their own spiteful venom.

“So I accept and claim the identity with pride, I am Stephen Fry, and I am a Jew. The great Irish thinker and writer Conor Cruise O’Brien once said that “antisemitism is a light sleeper”. Well, it seems to have woken up of late. The horrendous events of October 7 and the Israeli response seem to have stirred up this ancient hatred. It’s agonising to see all the violence and destruction that’s unfolding, and the terrible loss of life on both sides brings me an overwhelming sadness and heartache. But whatever our opinions on what is happening, there can be no excuse for the behaviour of some of our citizens.”

“At this time in the face of the greatest rise in anti-Jewish racism since records began, Jews should stand upright and proud in who they are. Standing upright means speaking up and calling out venomous slurs and hateful abuse wherever you encounter them.”