Top Hollywood stars like Debra Messing and Julianna Margulies also condemn “Zone of Interest” director Jonathan Glazer’s controversial Oscar acceptance speech about the Israel-Hamas war 450 Jews in the Entertainment Industry Included in more than people.
“We believe that Jewishness has been hijacked to draw moral equivalence between the Nazi regime, which seeks to exterminate a race, and the State of Israel, which seeks to avoid its own extermination. refutes this,” the open letter said. It was first reported by Variety on Monday. read. “Every civilian death in Gaza is tragic. But Israel is not targeting civilians. It is targeting Hamas. The moment Hamas releases its hostages and surrenders, this is the moment this heartbreaking war ends. .This has been true since the Hamas attack on October 7.”
The signatories continued: “Using words like ‘occupation’ to describe indigenous Jewish people defending a homeland that dates back thousands of years and is recognized as a nation by the United Nations is a distortion of history. “That gives credence to the modern interpretation.” Although it is a bloody libel fueling anti-Jewish hatred around the world, in the United States, and in Hollywood, the current climate of growing anti-Semitism is a reminder that the Jewish state is a place that will always welcome us. It only emphasizes the need for Israel. No nation did so during the Holocaust depicted in Mr. Glazer’s film. ”
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Debra Messing, Julianna Margulies and Michael Rapaport were among the prominent Jewish entertainers who condemned director Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar speech about Israel. (Getty Images)
In addition to Messing and Margulies, actors Michael Rapaport, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tovah Feldshuh, Lisa Edelstein, and Brett Gelman, top producer Amy Pascal, and filmmakers Eli Roth and Rod. Lurie is there.
“They didn’t care at all how Jews would react to that kind of speech and the applause for the red pin when the hostages weren’t even mentioned. It’s incredibly hurtful and incredibly painful. ” Gelman told Variety. “It’s really puzzling that people chose to remain silent that night.”
A representative for Mr. Glazer did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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“Zone of Interest” won two Academy Awards earlier this month, including Best International Film, during which Glaser gave a controversial speech.
“Our film shows how dehumanization can go to its worst,” Glaser said. “Right now, we stand here as people who speak out against what it means to be Jewish and how the Holocaust has been hijacked by the occupation. Many innocent people are linked to the conflict, whether they are victims of the ongoing attack on Gaza.” Victims of this dehumanization, how can we resist? ”
Director Jonathan Glaser won the award for Best International Feature Film for “Zone of Interest” at the 96th Oscar Awards Ceremony to be held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California on March 10, 2024. (Rich Polk/Variety, via Getty Images)
Glazer’s comments were denied last week by Danny Cohen, one of the film’s executive producers, who said, “I fundamentally disagree with Jonathan.”
“It’s really important to recognize that this incident has upset a lot of people, and a lot of people are upset and angry about this incident,” Cohen said on the Unholy podcast. I honestly understand that anger.” “The war and its continuation are the responsibility of Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that continues to hold hostages and abuse them.Rather than use the tunnels to protect innocent civilians in Gaza, Hamas is “Palestinians must die. I think the war is tragic and terrible and the loss of civilian life is terrible, but the I think Hamas is responsible.”
Holocaust Survivors Foundation slams Oscar winner who equates Israel with Hamas as ‘morally indefensible’
The speech was also condemned in an open letter from the Holocaust Survivors Foundation.
“Sunday night, I watched with outrage as I heard you using the platform. oscar award ceremony Equating Hamas’ insane brutality against innocent Israelis with Israel’s difficult but necessary self-defense in the face of Hamas’ continued brutality. Your comments are factually inaccurate and morally indefensible,” David Schechter, a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor and president of the Holocaust Survivors Foundation USA, wrote to Glaser.
“The ‘occupation’ you are talking about has nothing to do with the Holocaust. The Jewish presence and right to live in the Land of Israel existed hundreds of years before the Holocaust. Today’s political and geographic The current situation is a direct result of the war that started.” Arab leaders of the past refused to accept Jews as neighbors in their historic homeland, on the grounds that security and prosperity would be better for all. Now that several Arab countries have made peace with Israel, Iran and its terrorist proxies have once again been provoked into starting a new war. Many of them, innocently or maliciously, denounce the ‘occupation’. ”
“Zone of Interest” director Jonanthan Glazer sparked a backlash by comparing the atrocities of the Holocaust to Israel’s military response in Gaza after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
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“Even worse, you chose to use the Holocaust to justify your personal opinions. You made a Holocaust movie, you won an Oscar, and you’re Jewish.” . Good for you. But it’s a disgrace for you to say you’re going to speak for the 6 million Jews, including 1.5 million people who were murdered just for being Jewish. children,” Schechter continued. “And it is a shame for you to speak for those of us who have personally seen our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins murdered and the world silenced. In fact, we had nowhere to go. “There was nowhere to go, even though world leaders knew full well that thousands of Jews were being murdered every day. Regardless, no country accepted us. There was no Jewish nation from which we could escape. Israel should be ashamed of itself for using it to criticize Auschwitz. “
“The Zone of Interest” offers a harrowing depiction of the family of a Nazi commander living next to the atrocities of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The film was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, and Glazer himself was nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
FOX News’ Lindsay Cornick contributed to this report.
