Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes repeats: “We [Jews] have become Nazis… Hitler has won”
British actress Miriam Margolyes has said she has been “shunned” by relatives and friends in North London after repeatedly criticizing 'Israel’s' aggression on Gaza, insisting she will not remain silent despite the personal cost.
In an interview with Times Radio on Sept. 9, the 83-year-old said: “No friends have come back. I doubt whether I’ve changed anyone’s minds. And some of the people that I’ve lost are people that I really loved and cared about … but I feel as if the whole of North London has pulled up the bridges and says, 'no Miriam Margolyes can enter'.”
Read more: Miriam Margolyes faces calls to be stripped of UK honors after criticizing 'Israel'
Margolyes, best known for her roles in Harry Potter and Call the Midwife, sparked outrage from some and praise from others with remarks equating 'Israel’s' treatment of Palestinians to Nazi atrocities. “We have been changed by Hitler. We have become Nazis because of the treatment of the Palestinians,” she said. “Never mind what has been done to the hostages, which is appalling… but we have been changed by Hitler, and therefore Hitler has won.”
The actress acknowledged the comments “disgusted and appalled” some of her community, but stood by them: “They feel that I have betrayed my people. I have not betrayed my people. It is they who have betrayed the tenets of Judaism, which were always full of compassion.”
Margolyes added that she is “angry, disappointed, bitterly hurt and shocked” by 'Israel’s' actions, saying she “didn’t know Jewish people could behave like that.”
She said she has lost family ties but believes history will vindicate her: “I’m sad that I’ve lost the friends and the relatives. But history is on my side, and they are wrong.”
