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Jewish Creatives Express Concern Over Jonathan Glazer's 'Zone of Interest' Oscar Speech in Open Letter
More than 450 Jewish creatives, executives, and Hollywood professionals have signed an open letter condemning Jonathan Glazer's Oscar speech for 'The Zone of Interest.' Learn about the details and reactions in the entertainment industry.
The famous director made a mark at the Oscars with his speech.
In response to the director's speech, hundreds of Jews signed an open letter as a response in recent days. The list of co-signatories includes actors (Debra Messing, Tovah Feldshuh), executives (Gary Barber, Gail Berman), creators (Amy Sherman-Palladino), directors (Eli Roth, Rod Lurie), producers (Lawrence Bender, Amy Pascal, Hawk Koch, Sherry Lansing), and representatives (Jake Fenton from UTA, Jeffrey Greenberg from Gersh, lawyer Craig Emmanuel), covering a wide spectrum of the industry. Since its initial publication, about 50 more names have been added.
"We reject the attempt to draw a moral equivalence between Judaism, which seeks to prevent its own annihilation, and the Nazi regime, which aimed to annihilate an entire race," the group's statement says.
Glazer declined to comment.
Alongside such renowned co-signatories as Jennifer Jason Leigh, producer of "La La Land" Gary Gilbert, and creators of "The Americans" Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, the statement added:
'Using terms like 'occupation' that are used to defend a native Jewish people recognized as a state by the United Nations distorts history. This lends credibility to a modern blood libel that fuels increasing anti-Jewish hatred worldwide, in the United States, and in Hollywood.'
This written statement came as a response to director Jonathan Glazer's controversial acceptance speech at the Oscars on March 10, after his Holocaust film "The Zone of Interest" won the Best International Film award.
With producer James Wilson and financier Len Blavatnik standing behind him, Glazer said: 'All our choices were made to reflect and confront us now, not to look at what they did, but what we are doing now. Our films show where the worst consequences of dehumanization lead. It has shaped all our past and present. We are standing here as men who reject the hijacking of Judaism and the Holocaust by an occupation that causes conflict for many innocent people. Are we the victims of October 7th in Israel, or the victims of ongoing attacks in Gaza, all victims of dehumanization, how can we resist?'
The speech was greeted with applause at the Dolby Theatre. Some, especially "Poor Things" star Mark Ruffalo, applauded enthusiastically.
However, the speech became a hot topic in the industry in the following days, and many privately expressed their reactions. However, those publicly expressing their reactions were few, apart from Michael Rapaport (one of the signatories of the letter) and Mayim Bialik. When Blavatnik's spokesperson told Variety that 'long-standing support for Israel has not changed,' it was seen as an implied distancing from the speech. People like Asif Kapadia and Jesse Peretz, who had previously spoken to Variety, supported Glazer's speech amid condemnation from outside Hollywood.
Brett Gelman, known for "Stranger Things" and "Fleabag," reiterated this sentiment:
''Stranger Things' and 'Fleabag' actor Brett Gelman reiterated this sentiment. 'There was no doubt about how the Jewish people would react to such a speech, to those red pins being applauded, and it's incredibly hurtful, incredibly painful.' Gelman, currently on a promotional tour for his book 'The Terrifying Realm of the Possible: Nearly True Stories,' saw four store signings canceled.
Jonathan Jakubowicz, director of "Resistance," criticized Glazer for using parallels between the Nazi regime's mass murder of Jews in the 1940s and Israel's war in Gaza.
'If Israel had existed in the 1930s and 40s, Auschwitz (the Nazi concentration camp) would not have happened,' says Jonathan Jakubowicz, director of 'Resistance' starring Jesse Eisenberg. 'Mr. Glazer used the memory of gas chamber victims, Holocaust survivors, and their families targeted to save them from bondage and sexual slavery. Making a call for peace is important, we all do it. But in this conflict, misinformation prolongs the war. And unfortunately, his comments have given legitimacy to propaganda networks that seek to prolong the war and demonize the Jewish people.'
Noa Tishby, actress from "The Affair," says:
'Glazer's attempt to attribute Judaism and the Holocaust to global issues exposes a significant disconnect in Hollywood.
Rabbi Marvin Hier, who founded the Simon Wiesenthal Center and has won two Oscars, says he was horrified not only by Glazer's words but also by the reactions given to those words at the Dolby Theatre.
Hier says, 'I couldn't believe it. If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was a Hamas rally. Where was the audience? They should have booed instead of applauding because Glazer left the viewers of the Academy Awards thinking this was acceptable.'
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