Not easy being a Jewish Comedian in France...

Nothing to laugh at here...

France's chief rabbi said Sunday he was worried after a French Jewish standup comedian and a singer were forced to cancel shows over rising Arab-Jewish tensions since the start of Israel's Gaza offensive.

Known by his stage name Arthur, Jacques Essebag scrapped his one-man show in the southeastern Ardeche region on Friday after dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters prevented the audience from taking their seats.

Singer Enrico Macias dropped plans for a concert on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius later this week after the island's leaders criticised him for taking part in a pro-Israel rally.

"What has happened with Enrico Macias and Arthur suggests to me that there is a certain view of Jews that is worrisome," chief rabbi Gilles Bernheim told reporters in Bordeaux, southwest France.

"It could be anti-something-or-other, but we are really not very far from anti-Semitism when we stigmatise a Jew based on his name, his role in society or his achievements."