Corrie star embroiled in bitter spat with Miriam Margolyes over remarks on Palestine

Coronation Street actress Maureen Lipman branded Miriam Margolyes a "shock jock" and "self-publicist" for her views about Palestine. Harry Potter star Miriam, 84, described Israeli forces as "vicious", claiming the country's government is "genocidal".

Miriam, who comes from a Jewish family, has been vocal with her criticism of Israel over recent months. But Evelyn Plummer star Maureen, 79, took aim at the outspoken actress, with Miriam reposting her insults on her own Facebook page.

Maureen laid into Miriam in her column, in which she explained that she had spoken to another Jewish actress. Although she too had criticised the Israeli Defense Forces' barbaric actions in Palestine, Maureen did not take issue with the other, unnamed Jewish woman.

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She explained that an email exchange with the other actress made her realise they both had conflicting views on the genocide taking place in Palestine. But Maureen took a brutal swipe at Miriam, claiming the other actress' opinions are "thought-through, measured and civil".

Miriam riled Maureen up with her Big Issue interview. She had told the publication: "I was born in '41, at the height of the Holocaust. I cannot bear to think that my people are doing exactly the same thing to another nation."

She added that Hitler had permanently changed Jewish people "from being compassionate and caring... into this vicious, genocidal, nationalist nation, pursuing and killing women and children."

Hitting out at Miriam's interview, Maureen compared her to the anonymous actress. She wrote in her column in The Spectator : "Miriam Margolyes, on the other hand, is a shock jock, a potty-mouthed controversialist and self-publicist, so I'm uninterested in her latest PR splash comparing Israelis to Nazis and the Gazan war to the Holocaust."

Miriam shared a photo of the column to her Facebook page on Thursday writing: "From Dame Maureen Lipman (alas!)" It's not the first time Miriam has ruffled feathers with her strong views on the war, with anti-Semitism campaigners hitting out at the star.

Speaking to the Sunday National, Miriam recently said: "Because I'm Jewish – although not a believer in it – I do care very much about what happens to Israel and to the Palestinian people."

She added: "Of course, there is antisemitism, there's always been antisemitism – nobody likes Jews, they never have. But this is about Israel and the actions of Israel, it's not about Jews."

Miriam was awarded an OBE in 2002 for Services to drama, but she has now faced calls for her to be stripped of the honour. The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) responded to her statements and called it “repugnant”.

A statement from the CAA said: "The fact she was born Jewish does not give her license to use her immense platform to spread anti-Jewish venom.

“This has to be the end of the road. She must be shunned by the showbiz world that has fawned and bowed until now.” CAA added that it would write to the Honours Forfeiture Committee as well as BAFTA to ask them to remove Miriam of her titles.

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