Warwick Stands With Palestine disrupt Jimmy Carr performance during week-long encampment

A performance by Jimmy Carr at the Warwick Arts Centre was disrupted by members of Warwick Stands With Palestine (WSWP) on Friday 16 May, just days before the group stood down their week-long encampment. 

WSWP protestors made their way up to a position below the Butterworth Hall stage before Carr began a performance of his ‘Jimmy Carr: Laughs Funny’ tour. 

Members of the student-staff coalition addressed the audience on the comedian’s alleged “alignment with the genocidal Zionist project and his participation in the erasure of the Palestinian people”, two days after Carr attended a pro-Israel event in London. 

In a statement by WSWP, the student-staff group described how “protestors chanted, drummed, and ensured that this Zionist event [did] not go on unchallenged”. The group also claimed that “members of the audience harassed, threw drinks and booed the students at the front of the room”.

The incident followed Carr’s appearance at an Israeli Independence Day event held at the British Museum on Wednesday 13 May, which was paid for and organised by the Israeli embassy

“The disruption ended when members of the audience came down and assaulted the student activists, pushing them, yelling at them, tripping them, and trying to rip the microphone and megaphone from their hands.”

University security staff were alleged to have called the police on the student protestors, according to WSWP. 

The incident followed Carr’s appearance at an Israeli Independence Day event held at the British Museum on Wednesday 13 May, which was paid for and organised by the Israeli embassy. 

At the event, a keynote speech was given by Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s Ambassador to the UK, who once called the Nakba – the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians – an “Arab lie”.

Also in attendance were Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, and Labour Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Maria Eagle, the latter of whom spoke on the UK’s military surveillance support for Israel.

Hosting a man like Jimmy Carr on campus, along with the kind of audience he attracts […] reveals the lack of ideological opposition to a man who has profited off of the genocide of Palestinians and the erasure of their history

WSWP statement

While the museum was picketed by climate organisation Energy Embargo for Palestine, who described the event as “unconscionable”, a pro-Israel counter-protest, organised by the groups Stop the Hate and Our Fight UK, was held simultaneously.

Commenting on the Arts Centre disruption, WSWP said: “This incident marks yet another moment where Warwick University facilitates violence and hatred through its affiliations.

“Hosting a man like Jimmy Carr on campus, along with the kind of audience he attracts not only reveals the lack of ideological opposition to a man who has profited off of the genocide of Palestinians and the erasure of their history but allows for a space to be made on campus for violence, racism, and bigotry to manifest.”

The disruption of Carr’s Arts Centre show came amid a week-long encampment by WSWP, in which the group took over the lawn in front of Senate House to call on the University to divest its ties with the weapons industry, and to implement new guidance on ethical funding and partnerships. 

After a week of teach-outs, art, rallies, workshops, music, knowledge sharing and community building, Warwick Stands With Palestine have ended our week-long encampment

WSWP statement

The encampment, the second of its kind at Warwick after the group’s initial 60-day stint last year, was stood down on Thursday (22 May), with the group reflecting on the opportunity for students to “grow their understanding of Palestine”, and “to recognise the crucial role that international solidarity plays in” Palestine’s struggle during the course of the week. 

In a statement, WSWP said: “After a week of teach-outs, art, rallies, workshops, music, knowledge sharing and community building, Warwick Stands With Palestine have ended our week-long encampment.”

“We began this encampment with the goal of centering the Palestinian people. We sought to make the Palestinian struggle unavoidable on campus. We transformed the Senate House lawn, again, into a radical space of political education, collective, care, and community building”.

A series of events was held by the group during the week, including rallies, education sessions, and ‘Palvision’ – an alternative music celebration which was held on Saturday 17 May to coincide with the Eurovision final. 

While the encampment has now been stood down, the activist group’s continued publicisation of their actions – including their disruption of Carr’s show – underlines their ongoing commitment to pressure the University to cut all ties with pro-Israel organisations and events

The music contest – the University’s screening of which was cancelled again this year – was boycotted by WSWP over Israel’s continued inclusion, with the alternative event intended to provide an alternative to what WSWP described as the “normalisation of genocide”. 

While the encampment has now been stood down, the activist group’s continued publicisation of their actions – including their disruption of Carr’s show – underlines their ongoing commitment to pressure the University to cut all ties with pro-Israel organisations and events. 

The group said in their statement that they will continue fundraising for “three causes close to our hearts at Warwick Stands With Palestine”, and also added that they are “more committed than ever to escalate our pressure on the University”. 

The statement by WSWP, reflecting on Carr’s attendance at the Arts Centre, concluded: “Warwick Stands With Palestine remains unshaken in our commitment to challenge Zionism wherever it presents itself at our University, and whole-heartedly condemn the invitation of Jimmy Carr onto our campus.”

The University, and Carr’s management Chambers Management, were approached for comment.