Key Takeaways:
- John Cleese is known for his comedy, satire, and wit. However, lately he’s becoming more known online for sharing misinformation about Israel and antisemitic conspiracy theories.
- The comedian’s social media includes fake quotes, unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, and libels about the Jewish state.
- Cleese used to have a positive relationship with Israel and Israelis. His turn to the dark corners of social media is the perfect example for how viral anti-Israel misinformation on social media has become.
What has happened to John Cleese?
The famous British comedian and actor, known for his leading roles in Monty Python and Fawlty Towers, has unveiled his latest role, albeit one far less amusing than his usual fare: Online spreader of anti-Israel propaganda and borderline antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Recently, it was announced that Cleese’s upcoming shows in Israel (which had been postponed due to the June 2025 Israel-Iran war) had been cancelled due to alleged pressure by the anti-Israel BDS movement (although Cleese claims that it was only for safety reasons).
However, this reasoning seems to be a cover for something much more sinister: John Cleese has become the latest victim of Israel Derangement Syndrome.
Ever since mid-October (ironically, after the implementation of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas), Cleese’s X account has been awash with posts spreading misinformation and denigrating comments about the Jewish state and the IDF. When he is not publishing his own posts, Cleese is sharing content from other accounts, some of which are known to be responsible for spreading antisemitic libels.
Some notable examples of Cleese’s crossing over into full-blown hate and irrationality include:
Sharing a fake quote by the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, claiming that she would sleep well even if a million Palestinian children were killed. He shared the false quote along with the comment “Unbelievable.”
He shared a post on X that featured a partial Jerusalem Post headline, claiming that “Israel is trying to legalize pedophilia.” The connection of Jews with pedophilia or other sexual perversions is a common trope among antisemites. If Cleese had done any due diligence and looked into it instead of falling for anti-Israel propaganda, he would have seen that the article is based on claims made by a far-right MK about the suggested lowering of the age of consent in Israel.
On an X post sharing a video of Israeli forces dumping concrete into an illegal Palestinian well (for more on why illegal wells are dangerous to the surrounding environment, see here), Cleese appeared to delve into the world of antisemitism, claiming “Well, they have a contract with God, who signed it some time ago, but which they have temporarily mislaid.”
Cleese recently joined a Twitter mob calling for the deportation of Israeli-American billionaire Miriam Adelson, sharing a post by the account Megatron (known for its far-right and antisemitic posts) and commenting, “Are foreign nationals able to buy American elections?” To be clear, Adelson holds American citizenship.
He also shared a post by pro-Hamas propagandist Motasem Dalloul about the IDF and commented, “Evil.”
In a swing to the conspiratorial side, Cleese shared a post amplifying Candace Owens’ baseless claim that Israelis were involved in the murder of Charlie Kirk due to “Israeli-linked phones” apparently being detected in the area.
Similarly, Cleese also shared a misleading post by an X account claiming that “17 Rabbis arrested for running a crime ring harvesting organs from living people to sell.” The post ends with “This is Zionism.”
Aside from the false claim that trafficking of human organs is essential to Zionism, this whole post is misinformation: The arrests that the original poster is referring to were part of Operation Bid Rig in 2009, where 44 people, including New Jersey mayors and public officials, were arrested for corruption. These arrests included five rabbis (not 17), and only one man was charged with alleged organ trafficking. But none of this stopped Cleese from clicking “share” when he saw this post on X.
Cleese also shared a post that falsely claimed that Israel had signed onto the ceasefire with Hamas in October 2025 in order to lull Palestinians back to Gaza and then start killing them again.
He also shared a post by an account named “Jewish Voice” about an anti-draft protest that had taken place in New York City. The post claimed that “Zionists are worse than Haman of ancient times, the Inquisition, and the Nazis.”
As noted by the pro-Israel blog IsraellyCool, Cleese has a positive history with the Jewish state, having performed in Tel Aviv in 2019 and taken part in an Israeli TV commercial in 2012. Even in his announcement about the postponement of his Israel shows, he claimed that he is “hugely fond of Israeli audiences.”
This makes his latest turn to the anti-Israel and antisemitic side of social media baffling and heartbreaking. Hopefully, he’ll realize the damage caused by his sharing of anti-Israel conspiracies and explain to his many Israeli fans why his social media has been so toxic lately.
Until then, instead of being the satirist and comedian that many look up to, he’s become a “very naughty boy.”
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© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
