A London theater said it was “apologetic and saddened” by an incident in which a Jewish audience member was kicked out of the theater after he refused to stand up while waving a Palestinian flag, AFP reported.

According to the group Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), an Israeli man, his partner and four other people of Jewish origin left the theater after the incident that happened at the Soho Theater on Saturday during comedian Paul Curry’s show.

According to CAA, one of the audience members involved told the organization that at the end of the show, the audience was encouraged to stand next to the flags of Ukraine and Palestine.

The Israeli was then asked why he didn’t stand up before, according to the CAA report, the comedian “yelled at him” and asked him to leave, while others shouted “go away” or “Palestine is free”.

The theater said it was taking the incident “very seriously” and was trying to establish what happened “as thoroughly, delicately and quickly as possible.”

“What members of the Jewish faith have experienced is appalling,” said a CAA spokesman, “the expulsion of Jews from theaters is reminiscent of the darkest times of humanity and should not be happening in central London in 2024.”

Like many other countries, the UK has seen an increase in anti-Semitic incidents since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, which killed more than 1,160 people, most of them civilians, AFP reported, based on official Israeli figures.

According to the Hamas Health Ministry, the Israeli retaliatory offensive has caused 28,340 deaths in the Gaza Strip, the vast majority of them civilians.

According to the CAA, 80% of British Jews believe that recent events have led to an increase in anti-Semitism.