Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza is “the most extreme humanitarian disaster of our time” and a reflection of “a kind of global sadism,” according to famed British actor Juliet Stevenson, a vocal critic of Israeli actions and Western complicity.
Speaking to Anadolu, Stevenson said the scale of human suffering inflicted on Palestinians by Israel is “beyond anything” she has ever witnessed.
“It is catastrophic,” Stevenson said, referring to the relentless Israeli attacks that have killed more than 51,000 Palestinians and wounded over 116,000 others since October 2023.
“The degree of human suffering is beyond anything I’ve ever witnessed … I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Pointing to the international community’s failure to intervene, she added: “There’s a kind of global sadism going on.
People are watching the bombardment, fires, burning, bombs, starvation, disease, the bombing of hospitals and the entire infrastructure, and the withholding of aid.
“The world, by and large … the UK, the US, much of Europe is just standing watching this and turning away.”
Stevenson was especially critical of the British government’s stance on arms exports to Israel, singling out its continued provision of parts for F-35 fighter jets used in attacks on Gaza.
“Nothing seems to be able to persuade our prime minister (Keir Starmer) to stop doing that,” she said.
Although the UK suspended 30 of its 350 export licenses to Israel in September 2024, that decision notably excluded components related to the F-35 program.
The licenses halted included parts for drones, helicopters, and military aircraft systems. However, as Amnesty International and other rights groups have pointed out, Israel’s F-35 jets – many of them partially assembled using UK components – have played a central role in the bombardment of Gaza.
“Like a lot of people, I feel desperate about it … 20,000 children dead, and that’s not including the ones that will be found under the rubble,” she said.
“What has to happen before people see this as the most extreme humanitarian disaster of our time, and stand up and call out for this to stop?”
‘I’m watching this country change’
Stevenson also voiced concern about the state of civil liberties in the UK, particularly around freedom of speech and the crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists.
She recounted attending a peaceful demonstration in London on January 18, where numerous protesters were arrested and prominent figures – including Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos, actor Khalid Abdalla, and Stevenson herself – were questioned by police.
“I knew that day … this country has changed,” she said.
The protest was entirely peaceful but still “violently policed,” including the “arrest by the police of Chris Nineham (vice chair of the Stop the War Coalition) who was thrown to the ground, his glasses were broken.”
The veteran actor explained that she was among those later contacted by police under the Public Order Act, an experience that she said has left her “very concerned” about the future of freedom of speech in the UK.
“I’m watching this country change. Something really frightening is happening here,” said Stevenson, known for her BAFTA-nominated role in Truly, Madly, Deeply, and appearances in Bend It Like Beckham, Emma, and Mona Lisa Smile.
Despite the pressure, she remains determined to speak out.
“I don’t want to go to prison but I won’t stop. I won’t stop going to demonstrations. I won’t stop talking about Gaza or Palestine because of this (crackdown on pro-Palestine activists),” she asserted.
“I have to believe that … we still have the right to free speech in this country.
I have to go on believing that.”
