Anti-Israel demonstrators targeted theatergoers attending a production of “Fiddler on the Roof” in London this week

Videos shared on social media show Hamas sympathizers waving Palestinian flags gathering near Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. One protester with a keffiyeh is seen yelling “Bye Zios!” at attendees. Another demonstrator shouted, “Palestine will live forever” and berated ticket holders as an “embarrassment to England.”

As a result, the historic theater has increased security measures due to rising antisemitism and staff members have received special training to handle potential disruptions.

“It is a shame to have to think this way. But that’s where we are and there will always be something,’ British actress Lara Pulver, who plays Golde, tells the Times. ‘In the past 60 years, whenever this show has been on, there’s been something maybe not on this scale but something that will evoke why we do theater.”

The Anti-Defamation League wasted no time in branding the protesters’ actions as antisemitic

“A London performance of ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ a musical about a Jewish shtetl, has nothing to do with Gaza, but this broad targeting of Jews has become far too common,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wote on X.

In the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent global surge in antisemitism, the themes explored in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ become increasingly relevant.

The musical, set in early 20th century Imperial Russia, tells the story of Tevye, a Jewish milkman struggling to maintain his family’s religious traditions in the face of changing times and external pressures. The play’s themes of persecution, displacement, and the struggle to preserve cultural identity echo strongly with what Jews are experiencing today.