‘I have to be honest. I had hoped never to hear the name Reginald D Hunter again.

But I see from a story in The Telegraph that Hunter has been released from what he called his “comedy jail “and is performing again at Edinburgh this August.

As I feel sure you will remember, Hunter was the stand-up who made a tasteless and incontrovertibly anti-Israel joke at an Edinburgh gig in 2024. When a British-Israeli couple in the audience objected, the disabled man and his wife became the butt of some of Hunter’s comments and were then heckled by others in the crowd. The Telegraph’s Fringe veteran, Dominic Cavendish who was in the room described it as the “most unpleasant comedy gig” he had ever attended.

While I have no wish to appear vindictive, and while it would be nice to think of Hunter’s offensive anti-Israelism as water under the bridge, I feel compelled to observe that based on the Edinburgh material that Hunter was trying out in London this week – as reported by Liam Kelly in The Telegraph –  the American-born comedian has moved on from anti-Israelism to something altogether darker. Several gags seem to bear the taint of classic Jew-hate and appear to incorporate the antisemitic trope about Jews “controlling media”. In another gag, Hunter seems to suggest that Judaism is more effective/powerful than “satanism” to allow you to achieve your goals,.

Kelly interviewed Hunter earlier this week for what is known in the trade as “a........

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