Over 450 Jewish Hollywood professionals, including Steven Spielberg’s sister and other producers, have signed an open letter denouncing The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer for his Oscar speech in which he refuted his “Jewishness” to criticize Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
“All our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present, not to say look what they did then, but rather look what we do now,” he said at the time. “Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst. It shaped all of our past and present.”
Glazer then said he and his fellow filmmakers “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.”
Glazer did, however, take the moment to remember the Israeli victims of the October 7 massacre at the hands of Hamas.
“Whether the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza. All of the victims of this dehumanization. How do we resist?” he said.
Since the speech, various Jewish organizations and Hollywood professionals, including Glazer’s own producer, have denounced his words. On Monday, the attacks on Glazer continued with the release of the open letter signed by the likes of Debra Messing, Michael Rappaport, Eli Roth, Rod Lurie, Lawrence Bender, Amy Pascal, Nancy Spielberg, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and many others.
Jonathan Glazer speaks at the 96th Oscars held on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide. (Frank Micelotta/Disney via Getty Images)
“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 said.
While the letter said civilian deaths in Gaza were “tragic,” it reiterated that Israel has waged a war of self-defense and has not targetted civilians.
“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,” it 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 continued.
The letter concluded Glazer’s words further give credence to “the modern blood libel that fuels a growing anti-Jewish hatred around the world, in the United States, and in Hollywood.”
“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,” it concluded.
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
