Jonathan Glazer’s open letter gets more than 500 additional signatures

More than 500 additional Hollywood figures signed the letter overnight condemning Jonathan Glazer’s speech at the 2024 Academy Awards for winning Best International Feature for his film. Area of ​​interest.

The letter, published yesterday with 450 signatories attached, denounced the director’s speech, mimicking his statements at the award ceremony on March 10. Signatories include actors, executives, directors, creators, producers and actors.

“We refute the kidnapping of our Judaism for the purpose of drawing a moral equation between the Nazi regime, which sought to exterminate a race of people, and the Israeli nation, which seeks to avoid its extermination,” the letter began.

In his acceptance speech, Glazer shared what he had to offer Area of ​​interest In an attempt to show “where dehumanization at its worst leads” and how it shapes the past and present.

Glazer continued: “Right now, we stand here as men refuting their Judaism and the Holocaust, which was hijacked by the occupation that led to the struggle of many innocent people.” He added: “Whether it was the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization. How do we resist?”

The open letter directly addressed the director’s use of the word “occupation” in his speech, noting “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 homeland.” A state by the United Nations distorts history.”

Since the letter was published, those behind the letter have been contacted by several people who would like to share their thoughts on the letter.

“That speech was a turning point,” says one person familiar with the effort. “It took off in a way we never expected. People who were most comfortable staying on the sidelines decided they could no longer stay silent.”

Some of the big names in Hollywood who signed the letter include Amy Pascal, Sherry Lansing, Julianna Margulies, Debra Messing, Brett Gelman, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Rapaport, Mark Pellegrino and Eli Roth, among others.

Since the Oscars, Glazer’s speech has received a lot of criticism, with many people taking the quote out of context and only using the part where he says he and his fellow filmmakers were men refuting their Jewishness.

People who worked on the film also came forward to express their disagreement with the letter, including the film’s financier Danny Cohen. Area of ​​interest Producer Len Blavatnik, who was on stage with Glazer at the awards ceremony, shared a statement through a representative that the director did not pre-deliver the speech, despite him speaking on behalf of those accepting the award.

Read the full message below.

We are Hollywood creatives, executives and professionals.

We refute the kidnapping of our Judaism for the purpose of drawing a moral equation between the Nazi regime, which sought to exterminate a human race, and the Israeli nation, which seeks to avoid its extermination.

Every civilian death in Gaza is tragic. Israel does not target civilians. It targets Hamas. The moment Hamas releases the hostages and surrenders, is the moment this tragic war ends. This has been true since the Hamas attacks on October 7th.

Using words like “occupation” to describe the indigenous Jewish people defending their millennia-old homeland, which the United Nations has recognized as a state, distorts history.

It gives credence to the modern bloody libel that fuels the growing hatred against Jews around the world, in the United States, and in Hollywood. The current climate of growing anti-Semitism only underscores the need for a Jewish state of Israel, a place that will take us forever, as no state did during the Holocaust depicted in Mr. Glazer’s film.