104:
purported act of collaboration in line with
Zionist philosophies about populating Israel at the expense of those Jews who remained. The play’s text includes such analogies as “the Zionist knife in the Nazi fist” (which was cut in the pre-production period) and accuses Jewish leaders: “To save your hides, you practically led them to the gas chambers of Auschwitz”. Characters assert that “Israel was founded on the pillars of Western guilt and American dollars” and “Israel was coined in the blood of Hungarian Jewry”.
124:
extermination of their own kind in order to help bring about a
Zionist state, Israel, a state which is itself racist". According to Allen, during the Holocaust, "the lower you went down on the social scale, the more you found resistance; but the higher you went up the social scale, the more you found cooperation and collaboration ”. In an interview in
200:, Ken said that he "had a shouting match" with Stafford-Clark and refused to tell the cast that the play was being cancelled. Loach says that Stafford-Clark was reprimanded for the decision and for not allowing any compromises, such as performances restricted to agents and friends, before he ordered all the cast off the site of the theatre.
181:"In reality there are inaccuracies on almost every page of the script; not only errors of fact, but innuendoes and allegations against thousands of Jews unable to defend themselves because they were murdered ... by the very people with whom, the script insists they were in deliberate and sinister collusion."
103:
The play itself, paralleling the 1954 case, uses the device of another (this time, fictional) libel trial in London in 1967 involving a man called Dr. Yaron who is suing Ruth Kaplan, an
Israeli Jew who has claimed Yaron collaborated with Eichmann. Allen queries whether the saving of certain Jews in a
215:
that he "hadn't tangled with the
Zionist lobby before" and "what is amazing is the strength and organisation and power of their lobby." The "Zionists", he said "want to leave intact ... the generalised sense of guilt everyone has about the Jews so that it remains an area that you can't discuss". He
123:
at the time of the intended original production, Allen described his play as "the most lethal attack on
Zionism ever written, because it touches the heart of the most abiding myth of modern history, the Holocaust. Because it says quite plainly that privileged Jewish leaders collaborated in the
99:
concerning
Kastner's activities in Hungary concluded that he did collaborate with Eichmann and his associates. "During the Holocaust in Hungary the acting head of the country's Jewish rescue operations betrayed his duty to rescue the victims and placed himself at the service of the murderers".
189:, then the artistic director of the Royal Court, rejected assertions the play was antisemitic or contained errors, but said that continuing with the production would cause "great distress to sections of the community". Stafford-Clark recalled in 2021 that Stephen Roth, chairman of the
91:. Although the initial trial found that he had indeed "sold his soul to the devil" by saving certain Jews whilst failing to warn others that their "resettlement" was in fact deportation to the gas chambers, there was a subsequent trial at the
264:
episode "to try to claim that the entire
Zionist movement collaborated in the murder of their fellow Jews; either from cold, cynical calculation – they only cared about getting Jews to Mandate Palestine – or through ideological affinity".
142:
that Allen "suggests that the entire leadership of the
Zionist movement ... people who strained every ounce of their being to do all that could be done to save European Jews – were involved in a dark conspiracy to betray them."
246:(1998) that, in his play, Allen "uses Zionism rather than Nazism as his exemplar of fascism and the analogy of Israel rather than Nazi Germany in his warning about the future revival of global fascism". In an article for
287:, described as "a significantly rewritten version". Levey defended the play in 1999: "It is not historically inaccurate. It's very much a pro-Jewish play. My hope is that it won't be sat on, as it was in the 1980s."
130:, Allen claimed Zionists' interests overlapped with Hitler's "on the basis of opportunism." Allen said: "Hitler was fond of the Zionists, they were good Jews, prepared to fight for land."
95:
in 1958 at which the findings were overturned. The claim he had collaborated with
Eichmann was false. By the time of the appeal, Kastner had been assassinated. A 2017 account by
594:
533:
224:
wrote in response to such comments that "the protagonists of the play are willing to manipulate anti-Jewish stereotypes outside of the theatre as well as within it." The
193:, told him that in Allen's text "the Zionist resistance wasn’t mentioned, the confused situation in Budapest wasn’t mentioned and the number saved wasn’t touched on."
147:
wrote that, like
Brenner in his book, Allen drew on anti-Zionist stereotypes originating in the Soviet Union which have a "Jewish conspiracy theory" at their centre.
391:
926:
549:
239:
production, Loach wrote that "the charge of antisemitism" against Allen's play "is the time-honoured way to deflect anti-Zionist arguments".
79:, whose job was to help Jews escape from Nazi-ruled Hungary. His libel trial in Israel concerned an accusation that he had collaborated with
203:
Loach claimed that the Royal Court had given in to pressure from members of the British Jewish community, including Roth, the publisher
796:
204:
113:
167:, intended for its Upstairs studio theatre, was cancelled on the day before the first preview performance. At the time, the historian
513:
447:
332:
171:
said the play was "a complete travesty of the facts" and "deeply anti-Semitic". Gilbert identified 60 errors in the script. He told
225:
212:
695:
729:
638:
566:
208:
984:
190:
36:, was abandoned because of protests, and criticism by two historians, over its controversial and tendentious claims.
76:
257:
92:
25:
989:
274:
874:
770:
220:, who defended Stafford-Clark's decision. Jim Allen himself blamed "the Zionist machine". Cesarani in
934:
910:
595:"Leading British Theater to Present a Play Depicting Zionists As Collaborating with Nazis in Hungary"
299:, is a non-fiction work about the Kastner trial. The title of the play appears to echo Hecht's book.
248:
138:
979:
164:
119:
96:
29:
949:
186:
922:
725:
545:
509:
443:
437:
328:
322:
72:
503:
848:
665:
392:"Ken Loach's Perdition problem: the 'anti-Semitic' play that keeps coming back to haunt him"
173:
53:
914:
217:
906:
620:
Bermant, Chaim (30 January 1987). "Allen's evil example of the banality of ignorance".
291:
168:
144:
80:
973:
283:
133:
108:
84:
45:
278:
126:
358:
930:
467:
489:
296:
253:
156:
88:
33:
822:
745:
Cesarani, David (Spring 1987). "Perdition: Stage managed antisemitism?".
117:(1983), which he described as "a goldmine source". In an interview with
61:
57:
236:
49:
490:"A Discourse of Delegitimisation: The British Left and the Jews"
65:
52:
in 1954–55 concerning allegations of collaboration during the
797:"Loach, Livingstone and the Holocaust: a study in slander"
281:, Loach's son-in-law, in what David Jay, writing for the
260:
lie". He wrote that Loach is one individual who uses the
185:
Another specialist in the field, David Cesarani, agreed.
919:
Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism in the Contemporary World]
544:. Basingstoke & London: Macmillan. pp. 54–55.
542:
Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism in the Contemporary World
468:"The Persistence of Anti-Semitism on the British Left"
849:"Jewish anger at revival of lost play of the 80s"
567:"Don't let the revisionists rewrite Nazi history"
235:in 2004, in connection with the premature end of
945:, 34:1, 6-9, DOI:10.1080/0449010X.1987.10703724
327:. Cambridge University Press. pp. 169–70.
873:Pinto-Duschinsky, Michael (13 January 2017).
385:
383:
381:
379:
8:
633:
631:
527:
525:
931:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11262-3_5
488:(This text is also online under the title:
316:
314:
312:
431:
429:
427:
921:, London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp 53–60
352:
350:
348:
346:
344:
666:"A Curtain Call for Courting Perdition"
461:
459:
390:Cavendish, Dominic (10 February 2021).
308:
273:In 1999, the play was performed at the
87:officers in charge of carrying out the
696:"Jewish group hails play cancellation"
56:in 1944 between the leadership of the
32:Upstairs, in a production directed by
724:. Faber & Faber. pp. 74–75.
664:Toomey, Christine (25 January 1987).
7:
639:"London Theater Drops Disputed Play"
565:Aaronovitch, David (12 April 2017).
71:Its starting point was the trial of
950:"Can censorship ever be justified?"
324:Drama and Ideology in Modern Israel
244:Drama and Ideology in Modern Israel
114:Zionism in the Age of the Dictators
75:, a leading member of the Budapest
966:(five experts comment on the play)
847:Gibbons, Fiachra (23 April 1999).
357:Joffee, Linda (23 February 1987).
216:was also angry with the dramatist
14:
508:. London: Routledge. p. 40.
442:. London: Biteback. p. 147.
107:Allen was influenced by activist
795:Rich, Dave (27 September 2017).
540:. In Wistrich, Robert S. (ed.).
226:Directors Guild of Great Britain
211:. Loach told a newspaper of the
16:London play written by Jim Allen
769:Loach, Ken (24 December 2004).
472:Jewish Political Studies Review
228:protested at the cancellation.
505:Contemporary Left Antisemitism
1:
683:– via paulbogdanor.com.
359:"A play no theater will play"
277:in London in a production by
196:In an interview for the book
821:Jays, David (24 June 1999).
694:Lion, Ed (22 January 1987).
237:another controversial play's
207:, and the political adviser
151:Cancellation and controversy
771:"The truth about Perdition"
213:Workers Revolutionary Party
191:Institute of Jewish Affairs
28:. Its premiere at London's
1006:
700:United Press International
645:. Reuters. 22 January 1987
599:Jewish Telegraphic Agency
439:The Left's Jewish Problem
420:. Routledge. p. 291.
363:Christian Science Monitor
321:Abramson, Glenda (1998).
256:described the play as a "
242:Glenda Abramson wrote in
532:Cesarani, David (1990).
466:Cohen, Ben (Fall 2004).
159:-directed production of
77:Aid and Rescue Committee
24:is a 1987 stage play by
720:Fuller, Graham (1998).
583:(subscription required)
416:Bogdanor, Paul (2017).
93:Supreme Court of Israel
759:Cesarani (1990), p. 58
183:
44:The play makes use of
933:, based on Cesarani "
502:Hirsh, David (2017).
179:
155:In January 1987, the
911:The Perdition Affair
883:The Jewish Chronicle
801:The Jewish Chronicle
622:The Jewish Chronicle
249:The Jewish Chronicle
139:The Jewish Chronicle
879:, by Paul Bogdanor"
436:Rich, Dave (2016).
165:Royal Court Theatre
30:Royal Court Theatre
985:Plays by Jim Allen
956:. 22 December 2004
823:"A damnable shame"
643:The New York Times
269:Later developments
187:Max Stafford-Clark
83:, one of the main
927:978-1-349-11262-3
601:. 16 January 1987
551:978-1-349-11262-3
997:
965:
963:
961:
943:Jewish Quarterly
894:
893:
891:
889:
877:Kasztner's Crime
870:
864:
863:
861:
859:
844:
838:
837:
835:
833:
818:
812:
811:
809:
807:
792:
786:
785:
783:
781:
766:
760:
757:
751:
750:
747:Jewish Socialist
742:
736:
735:
717:
711:
710:
708:
706:
691:
685:
684:
682:
680:
673:The Sunday Times
670:
661:
655:
654:
652:
650:
635:
626:
625:
617:
611:
610:
608:
606:
591:
585:
584:
581:
579:
577:
562:
556:
555:
529:
520:
519:
499:
493:
487:
485:
483:
463:
454:
453:
433:
422:
421:
418:Kasztner's Crime
413:
407:
406:
404:
402:
387:
374:
373:
371:
369:
354:
339:
338:
318:
222:Jewish Socialist
174:The Sunday Times
54:Second World War
1005:
1004:
1000:
999:
998:
996:
995:
994:
970:
969:
959:
957:
948:
915:Robert Wistrich
903:
901:Further reading
898:
897:
887:
885:
872:
871:
867:
857:
855:
846:
845:
841:
831:
829:
820:
819:
815:
805:
803:
794:
793:
789:
779:
777:
768:
767:
763:
758:
754:
749:. pp. 4–5.
744:
743:
739:
732:
719:
718:
714:
704:
702:
693:
692:
688:
678:
676:
668:
663:
662:
658:
648:
646:
637:
636:
629:
619:
618:
614:
604:
602:
593:
592:
588:
582:
575:
573:
564:
563:
559:
552:
531:
530:
523:
516:
501:
500:
496:
481:
479:
465:
464:
457:
450:
435:
434:
425:
415:
414:
410:
400:
398:
389:
388:
377:
367:
365:
356:
355:
342:
335:
320:
319:
310:
305:
271:
231:In a letter to
218:Caryl Churchill
205:Lord Weidenfeld
153:
42:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1003:
1001:
993:
992:
987:
982:
972:
971:
968:
967:
946:
907:David Cesarani
902:
899:
896:
895:
875:"Book review:
865:
839:
813:
787:
761:
752:
737:
730:
722:Loach on Loach
712:
686:
656:
627:
612:
586:
557:
550:
521:
514:
494:
455:
448:
423:
408:
375:
340:
333:
307:
306:
304:
301:
270:
267:
198:Loach on Loach
169:Martin Gilbert
152:
149:
145:David Cesarani
81:Adolf Eichmann
73:Rudolf Kastner
41:
38:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1002:
991:
988:
986:
983:
981:
978:
977:
975:
955:
951:
947:
944:
940:
938:
932:
928:
924:
920:
916:
912:
908:
905:
904:
900:
884:
880:
878:
869:
866:
854:
850:
843:
840:
828:
827:New Statesman
824:
817:
814:
802:
798:
791:
788:
776:
772:
765:
762:
756:
753:
748:
741:
738:
733:
727:
723:
716:
713:
701:
697:
690:
687:
674:
667:
660:
657:
644:
640:
634:
632:
628:
623:
616:
613:
600:
596:
590:
587:
572:
568:
561:
558:
553:
547:
543:
539:
537:
528:
526:
522:
517:
515:9781315304298
511:
507:
506:
498:
495:
491:
477:
473:
469:
462:
460:
456:
451:
449:9781785901515
445:
441:
440:
432:
430:
428:
424:
419:
412:
409:
397:
396:The Telegraph
393:
386:
384:
382:
380:
376:
364:
360:
353:
351:
349:
347:
345:
341:
336:
334:9780521441599
330:
326:
325:
317:
315:
313:
309:
302:
300:
298:
294:
293:
288:
286:
285:
284:New Statesman
280:
276:
268:
266:
263:
259:
255:
251:
250:
245:
240:
238:
234:
229:
227:
223:
219:
214:
210:
206:
201:
199:
194:
192:
188:
182:
178:
176:
175:
170:
166:
163:for London's
162:
158:
150:
148:
146:
141:
140:
135:
134:Chaim Bermant
131:
129:
128:
122:
121:
116:
115:
110:
109:Lenni Brenner
105:
101:
98:
97:Paul Bogdanor
94:
90:
86:
82:
78:
74:
69:
67:
63:
59:
55:
51:
47:
46:a libel trial
39:
37:
35:
31:
27:
23:
22:
990:Anti-Zionism
958:. Retrieved
954:the Guardian
953:
942:
936:
918:
888:27 September
886:. Retrieved
882:
876:
868:
858:27 September
856:. Retrieved
853:The Guardian
852:
842:
830:. Retrieved
826:
816:
806:27 September
804:. Retrieved
800:
790:
780:27 September
778:. Retrieved
775:The Guardian
774:
764:
755:
746:
740:
721:
715:
705:27 September
703:. Retrieved
699:
689:
677:. Retrieved
672:
659:
649:27 September
647:. Retrieved
642:
621:
615:
603:. Retrieved
598:
589:
576:27 September
574:. Retrieved
570:
560:
541:
535:
504:
497:
482:27 September
480:. Retrieved
475:
471:
438:
417:
411:
399:. Retrieved
395:
368:27 September
366:. Retrieved
362:
323:
290:
289:
282:
279:Elliot Levey
275:Gate Theatre
272:
261:
247:
243:
241:
233:The Guardian
232:
230:
221:
209:Lord Goodman
202:
197:
195:
184:
180:
172:
160:
154:
137:
132:
127:The Guardian
125:
118:
112:
106:
102:
70:
60:movement in
43:
20:
19:
18:
679:12 February
605:12 February
401:12 February
980:1987 plays
974:Categories
832:10 October
731:0571179185
303:References
960:31 August
937:Perdition
571:The Times
536:Perdition
297:Ben Hecht
262:Perdition
258:Stalinist
254:Dave Rich
252:in 2017,
161:Perdition
157:Ken Loach
136:wrote in
89:Holocaust
34:Ken Loach
26:Jim Allen
21:Perdition
675:. London
120:Time Out
111:’s book
64:and the
917:, ed,
538:Affair"
292:Perfidy
62:Hungary
58:Zionist
40:Outline
939:Affair
925:
913:" in '
728:
548:
512:
446:
331:
50:Israel
669:(PDF)
534:"The
478:(3–4)
295:, by
66:Nazis
962:2021
935:The
929:DOI:
923:ISBN
890:2017
860:2017
834:2019
808:2017
782:2017
726:ISBN
707:2017
681:2021
651:2017
607:2021
578:2017
546:ISBN
510:ISBN
484:2017
444:ISBN
403:2021
370:2017
329:ISBN
941:",
909:, "
48:in
976::
952:.
881:.
851:.
825:.
799:.
773:.
698:.
671:.
641:.
630:^
597:.
569:.
524:^
492:.)
476:16
474:.
470:.
458:^
426:^
394:.
378:^
361:.
343:^
311:^
177::
85:SS
68:.
964:.
892:.
862:.
836:.
810:.
784:.
734:.
709:.
653:.
624:.
609:.
580:.
554:.
518:.
486:.
452:.
405:.
372:.
337:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.