Leigh won’t be going to Israel

Director Mike Leigh has pulled out of a teaching trip to Israel in protest against that country’s controversial loyalty-oath bill. The statute, which would require new citizens to pledge allegiance to a “Jewish and democratic state”, has already generated much opposition.

“As you know, I have always had serious misgivings about coming, but I allowed myself to be persuaded by your sincerity and your commitment,” Leigh wrote to the organisers. “Since then, your government has gone from bad to worse.”

In further Mike Leigh news, the great man will be at Dublin's Cineworld on Wednesday for the Irish premiere of his new film, Another Year. Tickets for the event (a presentation by the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival) are available exclusively through the festival's website at jdiff.com. Leigh will participate in a Q&A after the screening.