More than 1,000 Jews in Hollywood denounce director's 'occupation' speech on Israel-Hamas war at Oscars

More than 1,000 Jews working in Hollywood signed an open letter denouncing director Jonathan Glazer's "occupation" speech focused on the Israel-Hamas war at the Academy Awards ceremony, Variety reported.

What's the background?

After his Holocaust film “The Zone of Interest” won the Oscar for Best International Film earlier this month, Glazer said in his acceptance speech — with producer James Wilson and financier Len Blavatnik on stage with him — that "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 ... whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?”

Variety said the open letter fired back with, “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.”

The letter also said, “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," according to the magazine.

Variety said the list of co-signees includes actress Debra Messing, director Eli Roth, and producers Lawrence Bender, Amy Pascal, and Sherry Lansing. The magazine added that nearly 500 Jewish individuals initially signed the letter — and that about 500 more have added their names to the letter since it was first published.

Glazer declined to comment, according to Variety.

“There was no concern for how Jewish people are going to react to a speech like that, to that applause to those red pins, when not even our hostages are being mentioned, and it’s just incredibly hurtful, incredibly painful,” actor Brett Gelman told the magazine. “It’s truly baffling to me that people were choosing to be silent that night.” Variety said several Oscar attendees including actor Mark Ruffalo and singer Billie Eilish wore Artists4Ceasefire pins.

Gelman is on a book tour for his literary debut, “The Terrifying Realm of the Possible: Nearly True Stories,” which has seen four stores cancel signings, the magazine said. Gelman's agent told Variety that venues cited security concerns due to pro-Palestinian protestors who've targeted his client over his vocal support for Israel.

Rabbi Marvin Hier — a two-time Oscar winner who founded the Simon Wiesenthal Center — added to the magazine that the reaction to Glazer's speech in the Dolby Theatre appalled him: “I couldn’t believe it. If I didn’t know better, I would think that this was a Hamas rally. Where was the audience? People should have gotten up and booed because he left the Academy Awards [TV audience] thinking this was fine.”

Open Letter Condemns Jonathan Glazer's 'Zone of Interest' Oscars Speech | THR Newsyoutu.be

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