Vanessa Redgrave, 88, hailed as ‘national treasure’ after turning up to protest in rare public appearance

Vanessa Redgrave has been praised for turning up to a protest addressing the ongoing starvation crisis in Gaza.

In recent weeks, there has been increased international attention on the suffering of civilians in Gaza, with photos of starving Palestinians, including babies, emerging.

With aid agencies issuing stark warnings about the desperate situation on the ground, there’s been a public outcry for intervention in the conflict, which is about to enter its third year.

Although Israel has denied any responsibility for what experts have now called a famine, it controls the flow of all aid into the enclave and has been blamed by agencies, including Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam International, for ‘restrictions, delays and fragmentation’ for ‘chaos, starvation and death’.

Over the weekend, more protests occurred across the world calling for action, including in London, where Redgrave, a long-time supporter of Palestine, was spotted.

On Friday evening, the pots and pans for Palestine protest was held at the Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton, with attendees asked to ‘bang pots and pans to echo the hunger faced by Palestinians trapped under blockade’.

The demonstration, organised by Lambeth and Southwark for Palestine and West Norwood 4 Palestine, was part of a UK-wide day of action, with the acclaimed actress photographed taking part.

Photos taken at the event show the 88-year-old in a wheelchair holding a spoon and pan.

Sharing it on social media, photographer Misan Harriman wrote: ‘I burst into tears when I saw this image of our national treasure, Vanessa Redgrave, still fighting for us to recognise the humanity of Palestinians 46 years after her Oscars speech. She has endured so much for this cause, but she still shows her solidarity in London today!

‘Unfiltered humanity, perseverance, and empathy in one soul.

‘Thank you sincerely, Vanessa; you are a real one!’ he added, also tagging her daughter Joely Richardson.

‘Oh!!!! THIS is phenomenal!!!!!!!’ Annie Lennox commented.

‘Stunning! Thank you Vanessa,’ Paloma Faith wrote.

‘She is an amazing human being,’ Rosie O’Donnell added.

Many others praised Redgrave’s long-standing activism and ‘moral backbone to speak truth to power’.

In 1977, Redgrave produced and starred in a controversial documentary film, The Palestinian, about the activities of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

She funded the film by selling her house, but faced fierce backlash from some, with one screening of the film even being hit by a bomb.

The following year Redgrave, whose career has spanned six decades and seen her win an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and an Olivier Award, won the Oscar for best actress in a supporting role for her part in the drama Julia.

After she paid tribute to the film’s writer, she ended her speech with a message directed to the Palestinian people: ‘And I salute you, and I pay tribute to you, and I think you should be very proud that in the last few weeks you’ve stood firm, and you have refused to be intimidated by the threats of a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums.

‘I salute you and I thank you and I pledge to you that I will continue to fight against anti-Semitism and fascism.’

Redgrave had been referring to the extremists of the Jewish Defense League who had offered a bounty to have her killed.

Throughout her career, Vanessa has also participated in anti-Vietnam War protests, served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, launched the Peace and Progress Party and in 2017 made her directorial debut with the movie Sea Sorrow, a documentary about the European migrant crisis and the plight of migrants encamped outside Calais, France, trying to reach Britain.

In 2018, she told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘I had to do my bit. Everybody had to do their bit, to try and change things for the better. To advocate for what’s right and not be dismayed if immediately you don’t see results.’

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