Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham issues condemnation against those ‘ignoring’ Gaza
‘To say you didn’t know is not an option,’ argued the 62-year-old
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Game Of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham has said that the internet “will not forget” those who failed to express vocal support for Palestinians amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
The Irish actor, 62, said that he had been participating in pro-Palestinian solidarity campaigns for four decades.
Speaking in Dublin on Wednesday (24 April), he said many people in the industry have told him that they respect his campaigning but added: “What concerns me is that the people who do care and are not doing anything are, in my opinion, worse than the people who don’t care.
“That it sits well with them, they can ignore it.”
Asked if he had made pleas to other actors to join the campaign, Cunningham said he could not speak for anyone else.
However, he warned: “The internet doesn’t forget. When this comes around, when the ICJ (International Court of Justice) and ICC (International Criminal Court) hopefully do their work honourably, it is going to come out.”
He continued: “And the people who didn’t talk – it is not going to be forgotten. It’s livestreamed this genocide – and the option to say you didn’t know is not an option. You did know and you did nothing, you stayed quiet. I need to be able to look in the mirror and that’s why I speak.”
Last November, Cunningham said that for Irish people not to stand in solidarity with Palestinians would be to “betray our own history”.
“This bombardment and genocide has to stop for a number of reasons,” he said. “Obviously, the horrors that is happening to the Palestinian people and the ongoing apartheid.
“For another reason to protect ourselves. If we allow ourselves to accept this behaviour, then we allow it to happen to us. We have to stand up for standards. We have to stand up for international law and it reduces us as human beings if we don’t.”
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
He was speaking ahead of a demonstration led by Ahmed Alagha, an Irish-Palestinian man who said that 44 members of his extended family had died during Israel’s attacks in Gaza.
He said some of his family members had been killed by Israeli air strikes and accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing”.
“It is no surprise because in the Gaza Strip there are no safe locations to hide out from, to make an attempt to keep your family safe and sound. There is no region that is safe there,” he said.
Additional reporting by the Press Association
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments