Oscars speech from Jonathan Glazer causes more than 450 industry creatives to complain
More than 450 Jewish people working within the creative industries have signed an open letter criticising the speech made at the Oscars by film director Jonathan Glazer when accepting his gong for Best International Feature Film.
In his speech, Glazer refuted his “Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people."
The speech caused controversy given the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
There has also been criticism because Zone of Interest, the film Glazer was accepting the award for, was about the Holocaust.
Those who have signed their names to the open letter say they are uncomfortable with parallels being drawn between the current conflict and Nazi regime.
Nine days since making the political statement in his acceptance speech hundreds of people from the Jewish community, including executives, actors and other Hollywood professionals, have signed an open letter denouncing the speech.
Those who have added their names include: Debra Messing, Eli Roth, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tracy-Ann Oberman, and Nancy Spielberg – a producer and the sister of Steven Spielberg.
In the letter, first given to the publication Variety on Monday 18, the group says they "refute our Jewishness being hijacked" and describe the situation in Gaza as "tragic".
The open letter in full:
"We are Jewish creatives, executives and Hollywood professionals.
"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 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."
While there has been condemnation of Glazer's acceptance speech, the Auschwitz Memorial Museum, which works to remember those who died in the Holocaust and educate future generations, said the speech was meant to show that it was a warning about "humanity and its nature."
In a social media thread the director of the organisation, Dr Piotr Cywiński said: "In his Oscar acceptance speech, Jonathan Glazer issued a universal moral warning against dehumanization.
"His aim was not to descend to the level of political discourse. Critics who expected a clear political stance or a film solely about genocide did not grasp the depth of his message.
"The Zone of Interest is not a film about the Shoah. It is primarily a profound warning about humanity and its nature."
He added that Glazer's movie had a "clear, unambiguous, and universal message: the seeds of the greatest evil lurk in our everyday lives".
Glazer's speech was not the only statement referencing the ongoing conflict at the Oscars.
Singer Billie Eilish, actor Mark Ruffalo, and Poor Things star Ramy Youssef were among celebrities wearing a red pin on the red carpet calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The ceremony also started five minutes late following pro-Palestinian protests outside the venue.
Israel's offensive was triggered by an unprecedented attack into southern Israel by Hamas on October 7 2023, which killed 1,200 people and led to around 250 others being taken hostage.
At least 31,819 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
It comes as the latest findings from the IPC has found that around 677,000 people - nearly a third of the Gaza's population of 2.3 million - are experiencing the highest level of catastrophic hunger.
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