Mason added: ‘But because they once were .??.??. they are still not comfortable enough with the new situation they’re in. They still can’t accept the fact that they are completely accepted everywhere .??.??. it’s all in their minds.’
Veteran Jewish comedian Jackie Mason has plunged the BBC’s Desert Island Discs into the centre of a race row
Veteran Jewish comedian Jackie Mason has plunged the BBC’s Desert Island Discs into the centre of a race row by claiming that ‘Jewish and black people’ are no longer the victims of racial discrimination.
Mason, 75, who is regarded as one of the world’s greatest stand-up comedy stars, said some minority groups wrongly believe they are still being persecuted because of an inability to escape the past.
In an edition of the Radio??4 show to be broadcast today, the New York-born star says: ‘I wouldn’t say the Jews or the blacks today are suffering from racism.
‘I don’t think it’s such a terrible disadvantage to be black or Jewish today.’
He added: ‘But because they once were .??.??. they are still not comfortable enough with the new situation they’re in.
‘They still can’t accept the fact that they are completely accepted everywhere .??.??. it’s all in their minds.’
Mason, who is currently playing to packed houses in London’s West End, said he doubted whether Jewish people were even being persecuted when he started out as a comedian in the early Sixties.
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