The Oscars night this year was a combination of a star-studded affair, some cordial banter, as well as some political undertones. Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas War wherein thousands of people in Gaza are being killed and starved to death by Israel every passing day, many celebrities called for a ceasefire by wearing red ribbons at the Oscars.
‘Zone of Interest’ writer-director Jonathan Glazer went a step ahead and called for justice for Gaza civilians in his acceptance speech at the 2024 Oscars. Though his speech received roaring applause from the audience at the awards event, more than 450 Jewish stars and other Hollywood professionals have united in opposition to his speech.
Jonathan Glazer Calls Out Deaths In Gaza Amid Ongoing Israel-Hamas War
While delivering his acceptance speech for Best International Feature at the Oscars, ‘Zone of Interest’ writer-director Jonathan Glazer linked his Holocaust-themed film to the ongoing war in Gaza. “Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst. It’s shaped all of our past and present,” he said during the speech.
“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. Whether the victims of October — 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?” he added.
The speech met with an astounding response as people in the audience lauded his sensibility with tears in their eyes. However, not everyone is happy with Glazer calling Israel out. A group of around 450 Hollywood Jew professionals have denounced his speech in an open letter published by ‘Variety‘.
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Open Letter By 450 Jewish Stars Denounces Jonathan Glazer’s Speech
The open letter, published in response to Glazer’s speech, read, “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 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 further read.
The letter also claimed that Glazer’s speech “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 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.”
Though it is unclear where exactly the letter originated from, it is signed by some prominent stars like Debra Messing, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Julianna Margulies and Brett Gelman, director Eli Roth, writer Amy Sherman-Palladino, and producer Amy Pascal among others.
On the other hand, Glazer’s speech received support from other stars and creatives, including Mark Ruffalo, Melissa Barrera, and directors Boots Riley, Jesse Peretz, and Asif Kapadia, who also individually advocated for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel by wearing red ribbons at the Oscars.
Nominated for five Academy Awards and winning two, Glazer’s film ‘The Zone of Interest’ tells the story of Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz.
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