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Jews are not a monolith. And yet, in recent decades, supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration have falsely characterized any criticism of the Israeli government as anti-Semitism. This is a curious confusion, given that a 2021 Pew Research Center survey found that only 58% of Jewish adults in the United States “feel very/somewhat attached to Israel.” In the same survey, 33% said that “the Israeli government is making sincere efforts for peace.” And in March of this year, a Gallup poll said that “for the first time in its history of polling U.S. attitudes toward Israelis and Palestinians,” “Democrats’ sympathies in the Middle East now lean more toward the Palestinians.” than towards Israelis, 49%” against 38%. And these were published Before the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people in Israel and the taking of approximately 240 hostages, and Israel’s military response, which cost the lives of approximately 13,000 Palestinian civilians – UN Secretary-General António Guterres called it “an unprecedented killing of civilians and unparalleled in any conflict since I have been Secretary-General,” although he should pay more attention to this happening in Sudan – have put the Israeli-Palestinian issue at the top of all social networks, including those in Hollywood, a city where many Jews live (for historical and cultural reasons explained here). And the way Hollywood executives have hit back at any criticism of the Israeli government during the ongoing conflict may start to look like a new Hollywood blacklist.
First came CAA senior agent Maha Dakhil, who was demoted from her position as co-head of the powerful talent agency’s film department after sharing an Instagram post calling Israel’s bombing of Gaza a “genocide.” Dakhil, who represents Tom Cruise, Reese Witherspoon and Natalie Portman, issued a sincere apology and deleted the post, but that didn’t stop one of her big clients, Aaron Sorkin, from dumping her. A later report in Variety alleges that it took Cruise’s personal intervention for Dakhil to keep his job, and The New York Post said Dakhil has since embarked on a “Jewish listening tour,” meeting with Hollywood rabbi Steve Leder and Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League.
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On October 12, the CAA’s top executives joined more than 2,000 other Hollywood luminaries in signing an open letter declaring: “As Israel takes the necessary steps to defend its citizens in the days and weeks to come , social media will be invaded by an orchestrated disinformation campaign led by Israel. by Iran. We urge everyone to remember the horrific images coming out of Israel and not amplify or fall for their propaganda. »
Susan Sarandon did not benefit from the same reprieve as Dakhil. The Oscar-winning actress and activist was fired by her talent agency UTA, where she had been a client since 2014, after speaking at a pro-Palestinian rally on November 17 in New York.
“There are a lot of people who are afraid, who are afraid to be Jewish right now, and who have a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subject to violence ” Sarandon said.
Like Dakhil, Sarandon’s words were quickly twisted and used as a weapon against her. Her comments were called “anti-Semitic” in many headlines, even though she linked the fears of Jews and Muslims in post-9/11 America. (Sarandon has not commented for this article.)
Next up was Melissa Barrera, who was ruled out of her next starring role in Cry VII for what the film’s production company, Spyglass Media Group, described as follows: “We have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism or incitement to hatred in any form, including false references to genocide, to ethnic cleansing, distortion of the Holocaust, or anything that blatantly crosses the line into hatred. speech. »
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A Variety The report highlighted how Barrera had apparently been guilty of “re-sharing a post accusing Israel of ‘genocide and ethnic cleansing’ and another of Jewish currents magazine on the distortion of the “Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry”. Barrera had already placed at the top of the fifth and sixth articles of the Shout horror franchise.
Let’s take a look at this Jewish currents story that Barrera shared on his Instagram. The article, published on October 13, is written by Raz Segal, one of the world’s leading Israeli historians and Holocaust scholars, and calls the Israeli army’s assault on Gaza a “textbook case”. of genocide.” He also mentions a previous article in which he wrote The nation on “distortion of the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry”. When you actually read this Nation article, he explicitly criticizes the way Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms company, allowed Bulgaria to whitewash its Holocaust history. Elbit co-published a book portraying Bulgaria as a World War II hero in Jewish eyes and awarded Bulgaria a series of arms contracts. In reality, as Segal writes, “during World War II, the Bulgarian state aimed primarily at forcibly expelling Jews from Bulgaria…Bulgarian state authorities enthusiastically and brutally planned and executed the arrest, the looting and mass deportations of around 12,000 Jews from Bulgaria. Western Thrace and Eastern Macedonia occupied by Bulgaria at the death camps in March 1943.”
I will continue to speak out on behalf of those who need it most and advocate for peace and security, human rights and freedom. Silence is not an option for me.
In other words, Segal’s article is far from the “Holocaust distortion” that Spyglass claimed. In fact, he is a prominent Holocaust historian who uses his authority and expertise to criticize the Israeli military and its weapons manufacturers – for their actions in Gaza and for allowing Bulgaria to whitewash its role in the Holocaust. And now, reports indicate that Barrera’s co-star Jenna Ortega, who has also spoken out about the plight of Palestinians in Gaza on social media, has left the group. Cry VII — although Spyglass says the decision was made some time ago and had nothing to do with Barrera’s departure or Ortega’s positions. (Barrera and Ortega did not respond to requests for comment; in an Instagram post, Barrera wrote, in part: “I will continue to speak on behalf of those who need it most and I will continue to advocate for peace and security, for human rights and freedom.” (…) Silence is not an option for me.”). Meanwhile, the director of Cry VII, Christopher Landon, tweeted: “Everything sucks. Stop screaming. It wasn’t my decision to make,” alongside a broken heart emoji. He then deleted the post.
In addition to what happened to Dakhil, Sarandon and Barrera, the said Variety The report cited how CAA “cut ties with an employee and two clients over inflammatory anti-Israel social media posts,” and that Hollywood energy producer Marc Platt, Ben’s father and the man behind The The Earth And The little Mermaidhad “sent a text message to WME executives explaining why Boots Riley was still a client after the sorry to disturb you The writer-director urged his supporters on by the IDF. Meanwhile, Platt’s fellow producer on The The EarthGary Gilbert, was busy sliding into people’s DMs threatening them with violence if they protested against the screening. The article also claimed that “WhatsApp text chains have popped up all over the city” filled with Hollywood actors “sharing instances of perceived anti-Semitism” and that one such channel targeted filmmaker Ava DuVernay simply for taking a stand in favor of Dakhil, his agent.
And as of this writing, all of the Hollywood people fired or demoted over comments critical of the Gaza crisis – Dakhil, Barrera and the three CAA firings – have been women, and all but Sarandon are women. of color.
During his 2006 Oscar acceptance speech, George Clooney defended Hollywood’s history of progressivism. “We get a little out of touch in Hollywood from time to time, I think. That’s probably a good thing. We were the ones talking about AIDS when it was whispered about, and we were talking about civil rights when it wasn’t really popular…this group of people gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when black people were still sitting at the bottom of the streets. theaters. I’m proud to be part of this Academy, proud to be part of this community, and proud to be disconnected.
But Hollywood also castigated the stars for speaking out against the plight of the Palestinian people. Actress Vanessa Redgrave sold two of her homes to help fund The Palestinian, a 1977 documentary that sought to “document the lives and struggle of the Palestinian people” through “interviews with survivors of the siege of Tel al-Zaatar during the Lebanese Civil War, and with the leader of the Liberation Organization of Palestine, Yasser Arafat”. Redgrave faced widespread condemnation for producing the film – particularly from the far-right extremist Jewish Defense League, which burned her effigies, offered a public bounty to have her killed, and then bombed a set theater in Beverly Hills to screen the documentary. And during her acceptance speech at the 1978 Academy Awards, where Redgrave won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of an anti-fascist freedom fighter taking on the ___s in Juliashe denounced the…
