British Actor Ustinov Switches Role from Discourse to Dia Tribe

Canadian Jews were angered recently when the British actor Peter Ustinov switched from the role of entertainer to polemicist to denounce Premier Menachem Begin of Israel as a former terrorist and look Issue with Israeli foreign policy in general. The incident occurred at the annual conference of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants at the Harbour Castle Hotel here where Ustinov had been invited to entertain.

The account of what transpired was obtained by reporter Susan Lazarus of the Canadian Jewish News from Marty Zafran and Boris Levine, two of the approximately 50 Jewish accountants among the 2000 attending the convention. “He spoke for about 45 minutes, says Zafran, giving a somewhat amusing yet serious discourse on the state of the world,” Lazarus wrote. “Midway through the talks, the actor lapsed into an indictment of Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Israeli policy toward the PLO and spoke regretfully of the ouster of United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young.”

Quoting Zafran, Lazarus reported that Ustinov referred to “some politicians who are actors and spoke of Menachem Begin and Henry Kissinger, who theatrically accepted the Nobel Peace Prize without even deserving it.” Ustinov said, according to Zafran, “What right had Begin to accept a peace award when he is no more than a former terrorist who orchestrated the bombing of the King David Hotel during the 1948 War of Independence?”

Ustinov also referred to Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasir Arafat as a statesman who will have to be dealt with as a legitimate leader and questioned Israel’s historical Jewish claim to the West Bank, Lazarus reported. Zafran said that when he later confronted Ustinov, the actor “denied being either anti-Israel or anti-Semitic and said he was just using Israel as an example of the cruelty of men and leaders.”