Comic Relief is in turmoil as its Chairman resigns over the charity’s decision to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. The Telegraph has the story.
Eric Salama quit his position after he said Comic Relief’s management took “an approach to an issue which I thought was profoundly wrong and which I could not live with”.
The issue is understood to have been the charity’s decision to join dozens of other organisations in calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.
Comic Relief admitted the fallout came over “a stance being taken on a public issue without any prior consultation with the board or Eric as chair”.
The move has raised questions about the governance of one of Britain’s highest-profile charities. It was set up in 1985 by Richard Curtis, the director and screenwriter, and Sir Lenny Henry in response to the famine in Ethiopia.
There are fears that corporate donors might shy away from being linked to any organisation perceived to be taking sides in the conflict.
The row may also threaten Comic Relief’s partnership with the BBC, which has itself been criticised for alleged bias in its reporting of the Gaza-Israel conflict. Calls for a ceasefire have also split the Labour Party. …
Mr. Salama, who was appointed as chairman in June 2020, wrote on Twitter: “I admired Richard Curtis and Lenny Henry from afar before I joined and have even more respect and admiration and love for two wonderful human beings now that I’ve got to know them.
“All of which made last week particularly sad for me, stepping down early from my role and letting some people down in the process.”
He added: “But there are times in life when principles really matter more than any job. And last week was one of those times when management took an approach to an issue which I thought was profoundly wrong and which I could not live with.”
Among the demands of the ‘ceasefire now’ petition signed by Comic Relief were calls for the freeing of all civilian hostages, especially children and the elderly.
It also calls for humanitarian convoys to be allowed to reach UN facilities, schools, hospitals and health facilities in northern Gaza and for Israel to rescind its orders to civilians to leave northern Gaza.
The petition states: “We have witnessed unfathomable death and destruction in the Gaza Strip and Israel.”
It goes on to condemn the Israeli army for reportedly bombing civilians “as they attempted to flee or once they arrived in southern Gaza,” adding: “Neighbourhoods have been destroyed and turned into complete rubble. Palestinians in search of safety have nowhere to go.”
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