At the 96th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night, Jewish-British director Jonathan Glaser announced the film: zone of interest, which had just won the Oscar for Best International Feature, made some rather cryptic comments confusing the terms “occupation” and “Holocaust” and criticizing Israeli government policies. Although many Israeli officials and Jewish leaders criticized this statement, some Jews in Hollywood actually supported it.
It was a military response to Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, in which approximately 1,200 Israelis were killed (and raped, burned, mutilated, and tortured) and 240 were taken hostage. Because he did what the very few who criticized Israel’s decision to respond did. He referred to “the victims of October 7 in Israel.”
“At least that’s what he said,” said one entertainment industry insider. Like the people I spoke to for this article, he didn’t want to reveal his name or identifying details for fear of derailing his career.
If it sounds like the bar for showing support for Jews and Israel in Hollywood is extremely low, that’s because it is. People have told me that just acknowledging that there are victims in Israel is light years ahead of the political winds that pervade Hollywood these days. The typical politically engaged Hollywood celebrity simply calls for a “ceasefire now” without giving any indication that there are any victims in Israel. That Hamas still holds 134 hostages in Gaza (many of them American citizens, something that is rarely mentioned), or that Hamas will soon carry out more, even larger-scale massacres in Israel. I have said this publicly many times, and Israel has a duty to protect its people.
The real bad guy: Hamas or the “occupiers”
That’s why many Jewish entertainment experts were relieved by Glaser’s speech: Rather, look at what we are doing now… Our film shows that dehumanization leads to the worst. It shapes all of our past and present. ” One expert noted that he could have been thought to be talking about the dehumanization of Israelis by Hamas as well as the dehumanization of Gazans by Israel.
In the most confusing part of his speech, Glaser said, “Right now, we stand here as refutes of our Jewishness and the holocaust that was hijacked by the occupation. “This has led to conflicts between people without support.” All the victims of this dehumanization, whether they were the victims of October 7 in Israel or the victims of the ongoing attack on Gaza, how do we resist? ”
Most people believe that he and his producers (the “people” to which he refers) believe that their Jewishness and Holocaust heritage are being used to justify the invasion of Gaza and occupation of the West Bank. I think it means rejecting or opposing something. He was not denying his Jewish identity. Commenting on this confusing wording, one official said: I’ve met him and he’s usually very clear and very focused on what he’s trying to get across. Screenwriters and directors are generally the most fascinating and most vocal people in the world. Because they’re always trying to get people to pay to make movies. They’re always pitching.
“I think he was trying to find a way to tie himself up and acknowledge that there was a genocide, that there were Jewish victims. He wanted to say it without saying it. But…I think it’s because he made this Auschwitz movie and he’s a British Jew. He knows that the Nazis would have killed him and that Hamas would have killed him. For a man to admit that there were Jewish victims, he would probably need an invitation to a dinner party from an intellectual he respected. That’s the reality.”
Was it that difficult for him to say the word “Hamas”? I asked. “Yes, it will be,” was my answer. “As long as the worst villain, the only real villain, is the occupier, Israel, there will be Jewish victims.”
Inside the auditorium, there were no yellow ribbons showing support for hostages held by Hamas, except for Avi Arad, the Israeli-American producer of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, who was nominated for Best Animated Feature. There were hardly any. Other attendees said they would have been wearing yellow ribbons, but their cars came under scrutiny from demonstrators who tried to prevent guests from attending the ceremony.
However, many celebrities wore red pins to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, including Ramy Youssef, one of the stars of the film “Poor Things.” Youssef, a writer, producer, and actor, is best known for his series Ramy, about the son of Egyptian immigrants to the United States. Interviewed on the red carpet, Youssef said, “This pin is from Artists4Ceasefire, which has over 400 signatories.” [to its open letter] We are simply calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Palestine to truly ensure the safety of innocent people. We really want to stop killing children and we want to keep everyone safe. This is truly a humanitarian issue, and one that many artists have been passionate about. ” He did not mention the hostages at all, nor did he mention that there were children among them.
Other celebrities wearing red pins included Billie Eilish and brothers Finneas O’Connell, who sang the song “What Was I Made For?” The movie “Barbie” won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Mark Ruffalo was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for “Poor Things.”
Since the war began, a small number of Jewish Hollywood figures have spoken out in support of Israel, most of them visiting Israel and speaking at rallies in the United States, including actors Michael Rapaport and Brett – Gelman was also included, and both performed skits in Eretz Nehederet. One featured Academy Awards host Rapaport harshly criticizing Hollywood’s indifference to the plight of hostages, as well as Debra Messing and Jerry Seinfeld.
“My Unorthodox Life” influencers Baby Ariel and Julia Hart have also been here, spending much of their social media defending Israel. Early on, The Wire showrunner David Simon and Orange Is the New Black’s Jenji Kohan defended the October 7th victims, and more recently comic/actress Tiffany – Haddish visited Israel. Israelis based in Hollywood and Israeli-Americans like Gal Gadot and Natalie Portman have been particularly vocal about hostage and sexual assault cases.
Director Steven Spielberg, who presented Christopher Nolan with the director’s award for “Oppenheimer,” did not comment on anything related to the war Sunday.
Spielberg is considered Hollywood’s most respected Jewish elder statesman, having directed Schindler’s List and founding the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation, which collects testimonies of Holocaust survivors. He is also a man who has something to say about Jewish suffering, but he remained silent about the atrocities of October 7th. For months, he ignored direct requests for comment from Holocaust survivors.
Finally, in a feature article published on the foundation’s website in December, he said, “Never in my lifetime did I imagine I would witness such unspeakable barbarity against the Jewish people.” He promised to collect testimony from Non-Jewish Hollywood stars, such as Paul McCartney, often speak out about the cause and have visited Israel in the past, but they remain silent about the conflict.
