Berkoff has spoken and written about how he believes Jews and Israel to be regarded in Britain. In a January 2009 interview with "The Jewish Chronicle", in which he discussed anti-Israel sentiment in the aftermath of the Gaza War, he said: Interviewer Simon Round noted that Berkoff was also keen to express his view that right-wing Israeli politicians, such as Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu, were "wretched". Asked if British antisemitism manifested itself in theatre, Berkoff responded: "They quite like diversity and will tolerate you as long as you act a bit Gentile and don't throw your chicken soup around too much. You are perfectly entitled occasionally even to touch the great prophet of British culture, Shakespeare, as long as you keep your Jewishness well zipped up." Berkoff also referred to the Gaza war as a factor in writing "Biblical Tales": "It was the recent 'Gaza' war and the appalling flack that Israel received that prompted me to investigate ancient Jewish values."