Jewish stars denounce Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar speech in open letter

More than 450 Jewish stars and other Hollywood professionals denounce Area of ​​interest Speech by screenwriter and director Jonathan Glazer at the 2024 Oscars, in an open letter published by Variety on Monday.

In his controversial onstage comments while accepting the award for Best International Film, Glazer linked his Holocaust film to the crisis in Gaza, saying: “Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst. It has shaped all of our past and present. Right now, we are here as men who refute their Judaism and that the Holocaust is being hijacked by an occupation that has brought so many innocent people into conflict, whether they be the victims of October, whether they be the victims of 7 of October in Israel or the current attack on Gaza. All the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?

The open letter responds in part: “We reject that our Judaism is hijacked for the purpose of establishing a moral equivalence between a Nazi regime that sought to exterminate a race of people and an Israeli nation that seeks to prevent its own extermination.”

EW has not been able to obtain the letter and it is unclear where it originated.

He continues: “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 harrowing war ends. This has been so since the Hamas attacks of October 7. “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 the history”.

The letter also states that Glazer’s speech “lends credence to the modern blood libel that fuels growing anti-Jewish hatred around the world, in the United States and in Hollywood. The current climate of rising anti-Semitism only underscores the need for the state “Jew of Israel, a place that will always welcome us, as no State did during the Holocaust described in Mr. Glazer’s film.”

Actors Debra Messing, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Julianna Margulies and Brett Gelman, director Eli Roth, writer Amy Sherman-Palladino and producer Amy Pascal are among the Hollywood stars who signed, as were many other creatives, executives and Hollywood professionals. Letter aside, the public response to Glazer’s comments It’s been divisive. — in addition to criticism, has received some support from those calling for a ceasefire.

Glazer had no comment when contacted by EW. Representatives for Messing, Leigh, Margulies, Roth, Sherman-Palladino and Pascal did not immediately respond to EW’s requests for comment.

He Area of ​​interest The filmmaker’s acceptance speech also drew praise from other stars and creatives, including Mark Ruffalo, Melissa Barrera and directors Boots Riley, Jesse Peretz and Asif Kapadia, many of whom previously signed an open letter to President Joe Biden calling for an immediate reduction in tensions and a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.

Nominated for five Academy Awards and winning two, The area of ​​interest It follows the family life of Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz, and stars Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller. Glazer was joined by producers James Wilson and Len Blavatnik on stage at the Oscars to accept the honor, although the latter later revealed that Glazer did not consult him about the comments beforehand. “She did not clarify the speech,” Blavatnik spokesperson said The Hollywood Reporter. “But he is incredibly proud of the film and the praise it has received and doesn’t want to distract from the film’s important themes.”

another of Area of ​​interestDanny Cohen’s executive producers previously said they “fundamentally” disagreed with the director’s comments. “It’s really important to recognize that a lot of people are bothered by it and a lot of people are upset and angry about it. And I understand that anger, frankly,” Cohen said in an episode of the show. Impious podcast.

Watch Glazer’s Oscar acceptance speech above.

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