What on earth has Amy Winehouse got to do with Gaza?

There are plenty of legitimate ways to protest what is happening in the Middle East, writes Emmy-winning documentary maker Teddy Leifer. But defacing a statue of a dead British singer who had no connection to Israel is not one of them

‘Amy Winehouse being a famous Jew was enough to make her statue a target’ (Getty)

Amy Winehouse, who was immortalised after her death with a lifesize bronze in Camden Market, famously wore a Star of David around her neck. This week, that necklace was covered over with a sticker of a Palestinian flag.

Whoever did this could have placed it anywhere on her statue – but they chose, very intentionally, to cover her only Jewish marking. Winehouse, who was Jewish, had no notable connection with Israel, and she died 12 years before the current phase of the conflict in Gaza began. Being a famous Jew was enough to make her a target.

I have sometimes told Jewish friends that they were being a little hysterical about antisemitism in this country. I said so during Jeremy Corbyn’s years as Labour leader. I even said it to my parents. I was wrong. They sensed something that was, perhaps, often under the surface, waiting to ignite.