Maureen Lipman, 79, fumes at Gary Lineker and ‘leftie actors’ as ITV Corrie star issues stark antisemitism warning

“Meanwhile, the Co-op, the Lineker, the BBC, Ben and Jerry, leftie actors and grizzled pop stars and the propaganda machine that is academia, thunder on, ignoring facts and historic antisemitism and giving me fitful sleep,” Lipman wrote.

Lipman, who has faced antisemitic abuse herself, revealed she now walks to work with a security guard- a fact that some of her Corrie colleagues, she said, found amusing.

“Clare’s Jewish,” one said, referring to one of the script team, “and she’s not feeling threatened.’”

Lipman added that, while they might laugh, she is all too aware of the dangers.

“I could dwell on Jo Cox and Sir David Amess, whose lives were cut off at their constituency surgeries, or Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischkinsky, who were shot dead at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC- and I do dwell on it and it wakes me up at three in the morning.”

For Lipman, the violence in Israel and the lack of global support for the Jewish state are nothing new. “This is the oldest hate of all with a different head on,” she said in her column for The Jewish Chronicle.

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She argued that even if Israel’s Prime Minister was “Mother Teresa,” the world would still find reasons to criticise.

She penned: “It is immaterial, in my eyes, whether Netanyahu is a dreadful, crooked leader or not — it wouldn’t make any difference if Mother Teresa was in charge… they’d say the same, just add criticism of her dress sense.”

Lipman also voiced frustration at what she sees as the hypocrisy of Western politicians and media figures.

She accused French President Emmanuel Macron of lecturing Israel while “presiding over, some might say, a highly antisemitic country,” and took aim at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for what she called throwing “Israel under the 67 bus.”

Lipman also claimed she had it on “very good authority” that the October 7 Hamas attack could have been a calculated ploy to divert attention from the war in Ukraine.

“There were several meetings- at least nine- between theocracy in Iran and Putin before October 7, and the Islamist terrorists who paraglided out of Gaza to commit their atrocities were trained by the Wagner Group,” she wrote.

Despite the grim subject matter, Lipman’s trademark wit shone through, as she recounted planting jasmine and clematis in her garden and preparing for a “climate change-inspired cabaret” at Crazy Coqs.

“The world’s in flames, and our actions fan it. So let’s have a knees up to save the planet,” she quipped.

Lineker recently sent shockwaves around the country by quitting the BBC for good after igniting an antisemitism row earlier this month.

The controversy began when Lineker shared a post from the group Palestine Lobby on Instagram with his 1.2 million followers. The repost, which he later deleted, contained a video criticising Zionism and included an illustration of a rat.

After extreme backlash, the 64-year-old offered an apology for his actions but decided to walk away from the broadcaster amid calls for him to be sacked.

Meanwhile, the Co-op has come under fire after announcing plans to stop selling Israeli products as soon as this summer, following a vote by its members in favour of a boycott.

Ben & Jerry’s has also been at the centre of controversy throughout the Israel-Hamas war, facing backlash for its pro-Palestine stance.

The ice cream brand, known for its outspoken political activism, has long battled its parent company, Unilever, over its desire to publicly support liberal causes- including protesting Donald Trump, calling for police departments to be defunded, and now, condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza.