Over 400 Jewish creatives and Hollywood professionals signed an open letter Monday, denouncing recent Oscar-winning director Jonathan Glazer for his speech refuting his “Jewishness.”
A slew of Jewish creatives in Hollywood have rallied behind an open letter to Glazer which called out his speech on March 11 that advocated for a ceasefire in Gaza after he took the stage winning Best International Film for “The Zone Of Interest,” which was notably based on the Holocaust, according to Variety. While it is unclear from where the letter originated, a list of major names in support was provided to the outlet.
Actors such as Debra Messing and Tovah Feldshuh, executives including Gary Barber and Gail Berman, directors Eli Roth and Rod Lurie, producers Lawrence Bender, Amy Pascal, Hawk Koch and Sherry Lansing, United Talent Agency representative Jake Fenton and creators such as Amy Sherman-Palladino all signed the letter. (RELATED: Director Jonathan Glazer Says He Wants To ‘Refute’ His ‘Jewishness’ Amid Gaza War)
“We refute our Jewishness being hijacked for the purpose of drawing a moral equivalence between a Nazi regime that sought to exterminate a race of people, and an Israeli nation that seeks to avert its own extermination. Every civilian death in Gaza is tragic. Israel is not targeting civilians. It is targeting Hamas. The moment Hamas releases the hostages and surrenders is the moment this heartbreaking war ends. This has been true since the Hamas attacks of October 7th,” the letter stated.
More than 450 Jewish creatives, executives and Hollywood professionals have signed an open letter denouncing Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” Oscar speech. https://t.co/nA5zDAk9N0
— Variety (@Variety) March 18, 2024
“The use of words like ‘occupation’ to describe an indigenous Jewish people defending a homeland that dates back thousands of years, and has been recognized as a state by the United Nations, distorts history. It gives credence to the modern blood libel that fuels a growing anti-Jewish hatred around the world, in the United States, and in Hollywood,” the letter continues. “The current climate of growing antisemitism only underscores the need for the Jewish State of Israel, a place which will always take us in, as no state did during the Holocaust depicted in Mr. Glazer’s film.”
During Glazer’s speech, the director said he refused to have the Holocaust be “hijacked by an occupation,” claiming that Israel had occupied Palestine’s territory which he denounced and noted it was dehumanizing to both groups.
“All our choices are made to reflect and confront us in the present. Not to say, ‘Look what they did then,’ rather ‘Look what we do now.’ Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst,” Glazer stated with producer James Wilson by his side. “Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people.”
While some fellow Hollywood creatives, such as actor Mark Ruffalo, were in support of Glazer’s speech, others slammed the director online in addition to signing the letter. Glazer has yet to release a public response to the backlash.