In an open letter released yesterday, the signatories wrote they were "alarmed to see some of our colleagues in the industry mischaracterise and denounce his remarks".
The letter continues: "Their attacks on Glazer are a dangerous distraction from Israel's escalating military campaign which has already killed over 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza and brought hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation. We grieve for all those who have been killed in Palestine and Israel over too many decades, including the 1,200 Israelis killed in the October 7th Hamas attacks and the 253 hostages taken." The controversy over Glazer's speech, in which he said he "refuted" his "Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people" in Gaza and Israel, has persisted for weeks.
After the Academy Awards, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned his remarks and hundreds of Jewish figures in Hollywood signed an open letter accusing Glazer 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".
But others said that Glazer's words resonated with them, highlighting the rift in the Jewish community over the Israel-Gaza war. Piotr Cywiński, the director of the Auschwitz Memorial, said in a statement: "In his Oscar acceptance speech, Jonathan Glazer issued a universal moral warning against dehumanisation. 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...
The letter continues: "Their attacks on Glazer are a dangerous distraction from Israel's escalating military campaign which has already killed over 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza and brought hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation. We grieve for all those who have been killed in Palestine and Israel over too many decades, including the 1,200 Israelis killed in the October 7th Hamas attacks and the 253 hostages taken." The controversy over Glazer's speech, in which he said he "refuted" his "Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people" in Gaza and Israel, has persisted for weeks.
After the Academy Awards, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned his remarks and hundreds of Jewish figures in Hollywood signed an open letter accusing Glazer 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".
But others said that Glazer's words resonated with them, highlighting the rift in the Jewish community over the Israel-Gaza war. Piotr Cywiński, the director of the Auschwitz Memorial, said in a statement: "In his Oscar acceptance speech, Jonathan Glazer issued a universal moral warning against dehumanisation. 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...
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The Guardian (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 06, 2024