Being born, shall we say, under a different star, there are no official Christmas celebrations in our house. Sure, it’s a welcome opportunity to gather the family and – being a Jewish mother – feed the assembled tribe until they can’t speak. But there’s no tree, no stockings, no exchanging of gifts.
That doesn’t stop me from being a keen and thrilled observer of the Christmas countdown. Above all, I love the palpable hum of excitement and anticipation that comes with the season; the feeling there is something uplifting to look forward to.
This year, however, that hum has been tarnished by Marks & Spencer, thanks to their TV Christmas advert fronted by Dawn French. Sure, she’s comfortingly familiar as the doughy, good-hearted Vicar of Dibley and, for the fifth year, the voice of the M&S festive fairy. But all that changed a few months ago when French posted a video on Twitter in which she seemed to be sneering at and disparaging the suffering of 7 October 2023, when 1,200 people were brutally slaughtered by Hamas terrorists. Despite the ensuing outrage, M&S chose not to part ways with her.
This decision sends a blunt and painful message to Jewish customers
This decision is not merely tone-deaf – it sends a blunt and painful message, principally to Jewish customers: you do not matter enough to change our plans.
To be clear, French’s post was not a legitimate comment on Gaza. She crossed a line, belittling the anguish of that terrible day, and made it worse by adopting a whining, childish voice as if to berate Israel for daring to react to the horrors inflicted.
So why did M&S not respond to the backlash and tell their golden goose that she was truly cooked? Could it be that – beyond commercial reasons – a wider truth is revealed: that once again, Jews don’t count? This is despite the fact that M&S founder Michael Marks was himself Jewish, having come to Britain in the 1880s to flee persecution in what is now Belarus.
Of course, given that French removed her offensive video and issued a contrite apology, M&S may have felt the matter was neatly resolved. But imagine if she had parodied slavery or made jokes about Islam – would M&S have kept her on? Highly doubtful.
That our most established high street brand is content to be represented by someone who caused such outrage with their comments on an atrocity in which Jews were murdered and taken hostage communicates a singular reality: Jewish pain and trauma are apparently not considered when making marketing decisions. This choice undermines M&S’s carefully cultivated reputation as a brand predicated on integrity, respect, and communal responsibility.
Worse still, by continuing to endorse French, M&S is giving ammunition to the surge of Jew-hatred across the UK and the diaspora. Anti-Semitism has already contaminated so many areas of public life, from university campuses to NHS hospitals. When even M&S fails its Jewish customers, as one friend observed, it may really be time to reconsider loyalty.
7 October may not be on everyone’s radar, so it’s worth remembering this: it wasn’t just an attack on Israel; it was a genocidal attempt to murder Jews and march on the West. Any decent-minded person must surely see there is nothing to joke about here.
This is why the praise heaped on M&S for its advert is especially galling. As one reviewer wrote, the Christmas TV ad is ‘full of festive, sparkling magic’ and – naturally, with Dawn French in the starring role – ‘delightful’. Perhaps that contributor should rewatch the video French posted, alongside the footage deliberately captured by Hamas as they carried out their orgy of rape, burning, beheading, and mass slaughter.
M&S has not just spoiled my Yuletide dream. As Israel mourns the remains of hostages slowly returned by vile Hamas captors, our so-called high street favourite is making it painfully clear: Jewish people and those who believe in common decency are not immune from being thrown under the bus – not even at Christmas.
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