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8 months ago
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Reaction continues to The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer‘s acceptance speech after his film won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film this month.
About 475 Jewish show business professionals have signed a letter denouncing the filmmaker’s speech, inn which he decried the “dehumanization” of the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.
“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,” the letter states (read it in full in full below).
You can watch Glazer’s speech here, or read the transcript below.
Inspired loosely by Martin Amis’ 2014 novel and set outside the walls of Auschwitz during the Holocaust, the UK-produced German-language film The Zone of Interest stars Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller as Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig, as they strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden separated from the Nazi concentration and extermination camp by a only a short wall. What is happening on the other side is rarely hinted at.
Here is the list of signatories to the open letter, followed by the letter itself and a transcript of Glazer’s Oscarcast speech:
Eli Roth Director/Screenwriter
Michael B. Kaplan WGA
Daniel Rosenberg WGAe
Ilana Wernick WGA Writer-Producer
Jennifer Smith GMS (Guild Of Music Supervisors) Music Supervisor
Jeremy Drysdale WGA Screenwriter
Stuart Acher Director/Writer
Rochel Saks Manager
Amy Engelberg WGA
Sammy Horowitz WGA Writer
David Bickel WGA Writer/Producer
Cindy Kaplan
Ellie Kadosh Actress
Ariella Blejer WGA
Kevin Asch
Clifford J. Green WGAW Screenwriter
Jamie Denbo WGA, SAG-AFTRA CO-EP Grey’s Anatomy
Mandy Mitchell Wardrobe Stylist
Jon Weinbach President, Skydance Sports
Loni Steele Sosthand WGA Writer, Producer
Bradley J. Fischer Producers Guild of America Producer
Matthew Hiltzik
Ryan Guiterman Writer-Director
Jeff Fierson PGA Producer
Jacey Stamler 705 Wardrobe Supervisor
Diego Chojkier
Neil A. Cohen
Leslie Schapira WGA Writer/Producer
Amanda Markowitz SAG/AFTRA, PGA
Matti Leshem WGA Writer, Producer
Jennifer jason leigh
Stephanie Liss WGAW, DRAMATISTS GUILD Writer
Shira Yoram Producer
Raymond Leon Roker Creator
Shira Rosenfeld Creative producer
Ross Novie DGA Director / 1st AD
Alex Horn Author and Editor
Ari Ackerman
Keetgi Kogan Steinberg WGA Writer/Producer/Showrunner
Adam Berkowitz None Manager/Producer/Strategic Advisor
Adam Rosenberg
Ben Mor DGA Director
Lisa Ullmann Producer and Social Impact
Jenn Levine Writer / Producer
Dan Signer WGA
Danna Rosenthal
Michael Malone
Bart Coleman
Dan Adler
Rakefet Abergel SAG AFTRA
Jeremy Garelick WGA/DGA
Jonathan Jakubowicz Wga Writer & Director
David Shore WGAW DGA
Ron Rappaport WGA
Elon Gold WGA SAG/AFTRA Comedian/Actor/Writer
Jay Kogen wga, dga, sag-aftra WRITER/Producer/Director
Dana Min Goodman
Jeff Rake WGA Writer/Showrunner
Mimi Steinberg Writer/producer
Golan Ramraz writer/producer
Brett Gursky Writer / Director / Producer
Ron West Thruline Entertainment
Jennifer Maisel WGA Playwright/Screenwriter
Alan R. Cohen WGA
Bob Bookman
David Kendall WGA/DGA
Michael Glouberman
Gregg Simon DGA Director
Shaked Berenson pga
A.M. Driver SAG
John Altman
Gary Barber Spyglass Media Group
Leo Pearlman
Ari Frenkel SAG Actor / Filmmaker
Sepideh Makabi Director
Joe Pearlman
Danny Manus Writer, Script Consultant
Marni Flans
Mark Moskowitz Producer
Nick Greene SAG
Avi Liberman SAG/Aftra
Wendy Engelberg WGA
Jeremy Elice Writer
Hope Levy Sag Aftra Actress
David Renzer Creative Community for Peace
Bob Kushell WGA
Jeremy Aluma SDC Theatre Director & Producer
Nathan Firer
Becky Tahel PGA, SAG-E Producer, Writer, Actress
Kevin Bright DGA Producer/Director
Joel Michaely
Samuel Franco WGA
Shani Atias SAG AFTRA Actress
David Abrookin
Tamar Simon BAFTA Film Distributor and Publicist
David Kohan WGA Writer-Producer
Gil Goldschein
D.M. Harring WGA
Zusha Goldin Celebrity Photographer
Lee Broda SAG AND PGA Producer and actress
Guri Weinberg SAG/AFTRA Actor
Eli Steele Producer
David Price TV Academy Executive Producer
Jeff Handel
Howard Rosenman SAGAFTRA MOVIE & TV PRODUCER
Julianna Margulies SAG-AFTRA Actor
Michael Sobel
Lisa Edelstein SAG/AFTRA, DGA, WGA Actor, director, writer
Sami Kolko SAG AFTRA Actor / Producer
Jennifer Shakeshaft SAG Self
Traci Szymanski
Robert Lantos PGA Producer
Lee Trink
Bill Freiberger WGA Writer
Tiffany Haimof Wasserman / Senior Director, Business Affairs
Scott Rosenbaum
Sari Sanchez SAG-AFTRA Actor/ Writer
Michael Konyves
Jeff Astrof WGA Writer/Showrunner
Claudine Jakubowicz Film Producer
Michael Diamond Talent Manager / MGMT Entertainment
Salvador Litvak
Michael Borkow WGA
Michael Pelmont Manager
Josh Silver Personal manager
Alex Lebovici Producer
Rob Lee PGA
Alex Foster
Annie Wood WGA/SAG/AFTRA Actor/Writer/Artist
Noa Tishby SAG Author
Mandana Dayani
Mitchell Akselrad WGA
Robyn Bluestone
Adam Goldworm Manager/Producer
Seth Fisher
Caitlin Gold Producer
Aaron Erol Ozlevi Director
Seth Kurland WGA Writer/Producer
Jonathan Herman WGA
Fred Raskin ACE Film Editor
Gabriela Tscherniak DGA Director
Sophie Kargman DGA Director
Joel H. Cohen WGA
Mikhail Nayfeld Heroes and Villains Entertainment
Daniel Lehrer WGA Writer
Susan Rudick SAG-AFTRA Actor
Jeremy Lehrer-Graiwer WGA Writer
Danny Weiss WGA
Eric Tuchman WGA writer-producer
Mark Reisman WGA
Lanie Siegel
Karen Morse WGA Screenwriter
Jason A. Kessler WGA Screenwriter
Michael Rapaport Actor/Disruptor
Daniel Grindlinger WGA Writer
Phyllis Strong WGA
Tamara Becher-Wilkinson WGA
Barbara Garshman WGAE Garshman Productions LLV
Joshua Katz WGA
Ariel Vromen DGA FilmMaker
Alyssa Hill WGA Screenwriter
Inon Shampanier WGA
Jessica Leventhal WGA
Scott Rosenfelt WGA, DGA Writer/Producer/Director
Fernando Szew
Adam Newman
Michal Schick
Adam Waltuch TelevisaUnivision
Bess Kargman DGA Director
Joelle Boucai WGA
Jill Kargman WGA/SAG
Jodi Lieberman Talent Manager
Jeremy Garelick dga / wga
Aaron Fishman DGA Producer / Director
Rob Kutner WGA Writer-Producer
Joe Weisberg
Jason Newman Manager / Untitled Entertainment
Joel Fields WGA
Dena Waxman Executive Producer / Writer
Matt Ritter SAG Screenwriter/Producer/Actor
Max Jacoby
Keith Eisner WGA Showrunner
Stacy Sarner The Walt Disney Company
Ziba Terrio
Keren Hantman 1st AD
Ariel Nishli
Ally Shuster Agent
Bruce Burger Music Producer and Recording Artist, RebbeSoul
Melissa Zukerman
Gail Berman PGA Producer
Alex Meitner
David Haring
Pam Reynolds AMPAS / Executive branch Amazon MGM Studios
Marc Guggenheim WGA, DGA, PGA, Animation Guild Writer/Producer
JJ Adler Dga Director
Nancy Spielberg Producer
M.J. Kang WGA, SAG-AFTRA Writer, Actor
Oren Safdie WGA ST. OLAF COLLEGE
Paul A Mendelson WGGB Screenwriter and author
Stacey Tenenbaum CSA
Jonny Caplan WGA Impossible Media
David Grae WGA
Jonathan Baruch
Barry Schkolnick WGA Writer/Producer/Creator
Marty Adelstein PGA Tomorrow Studios
Menachem Silverstein Comedian
David Zabel WGA
Simcha Jacobovici Filmmaker
Scott Kaufman
Debra Messing SAG/AFTRA Actor/Producer
Barbie Kligman WGA
Brett Gelman Actor and Writer
Peter Lenkov WGA
Carl Schwaber SAG-AFTRA
Mark Feuerstein SAG, DGA, WGA Actor
Josie Davis SAG/AFTRA
Deena Stern Entertainment Marketing Executive
Steven E Gordon 839 and 800 Director Wild Canary
Alex Anhalt Sugar23
Rabbi Steve Leser Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Leonard Dick
Geoffrey Cantor SAG-AFTRA Actor
Tara Strong SAG/ACTRA Actress
Rona Geller
Alida Michql AEA
Susan Rovner
Laurie Seidman Producers Guild Producer
Andrew Stearn PGA Producer
Batia Parnass SAG AFTRA
Lynn Harris PGA:AMPAS Producer
Roger Kumble WGA
Robert Rovner WGA Writer/Producer
Jared Sleisenger
David Brandes WGA writer
Yuval David SAGAFTRA, AEA Actor, Director, Journalist
Kate Cohen DGA, PGA Producer/Director
Eric Feig Entertainment Attorney
Laurie Israel WGA, TAG
Jessica Switch PGA Producer
Ari Arad
Melissa Byer WGA
Rebecca Mall CMO
Lynn Roth WGA, DGA Writer/Director/Producer
Eric Fineman
Jonny Umansky WGA Screenwriter
Daniella Rabbani SAG AFTRA AEA Actor
Franklyn Gottbetter DGA Producer
Adam Friedman Creative Artists Agency
Jaime Becker
Yahm Steinberg Actor
Steven Marmalstein WGA
Lana Melman Authors Guild Writer
Chuck Slavin SAG-AFTRA Actor
Matthew Salsberg wga writer producer
Avram Butch Kaplan DGA Jamsea Productions, Inc
Jack Plotnick SAG/AFTRA Actor
Stephen Levinson WGA-E
Sheer Aviram Actress / Writer / Director
Benjamin Gober
Evan Silver DGA Director / Writer
Dan Marshall SAG-AFTRA
Justin Arnold SAG-AFTRA Actor
Aviva Pressman AEA, SAG
Hannah Tuber
Nancy Cohen WGA Writer/Producer
Rachel Kamerman Art Directors Guild local #800
James Beaman SAG/AFTRA Actor/Writer
Jeff Greenberg Gersh
Miranda Bailey Sag – pga – academy member Cold iron pictures
Ariyela Wald-Cohain CDG 892 COSTUME DESIGNER
Pamela Davis WGA
Paul Weitzman Literary Agent
Seth Rudetsky Sag/Aftra, WGA East Actor, radio host, writer, musician
Bruce Goldstein The Cat in Manhattan
Dave Chameides Local 600 and DGA Camera Operator
Brian Liebman
Dan Birnbaum
Jonah Platt WGA, SAG
Tamar Pelzig
Danielle Pretsfelder Demchick CSA Casting Director
Victoria Gordon
Kadia Saraf SAG and WGA-E Actor and Writer
Diane Robin Sag
Allan Spielman MEMBER OF RETRO69, WOODTSOCK TRIBUTE MUSICIAN AND COMPOTER DEVELOPER
Heshy Rosenwasser Musician and songwriter / The Hesh Inc.
Tiffany Lo WGA
Jamie Bialkower
George Gallagher SAG-AFTRA
Sam Sandak WGA Writer / Producer
Geoff Silverman Producers the Cartel Literary Management
Terry Serpico SAG AFTRA, WGAE Actor, Writer,Director
Jaime Eliezer Karas DGA
Lev L. Spiro DGA Director
Joey Jupiter-Levin SAG/Aftra Fi-Core Actress
Rhonda Price
Rod Lurie DGA, WGA
Gail Katz PGA Producer
Michael Berns WGA Writer/Producer
Yuri Rutman SAG
Cory Richman Manager / Liebman Entertainment
Michael Lewis Agent
Rachel Seymour
Melissa Rosenberg WGA Showrunner
Alex Litvak WGA Writer
Noam Ash Writer, actor
Jan Oxenberg WGA
Amy Sherman-Palladino WGA / DGA Writer/director/producer
Rosser Goodman PGA Circle Content
Yael Swerdlow Video Game Industry CEO/Founder Maestro Games SPC
David N. Weiss WGA Writer-Director
Ben Younger WGA/DGA
Margrit Polak Talent Manager
Rina Mimoun WGA
Patrick Moss WGA
Micky Levy WGA Writer/Director
David Lipper SAG Actor, writer, director, producer
Samantha Ettus Founder, 2024 New Voices
Ben Levin LINK Entertainment
Carolyn Newman
Hannah Louise Shearer WGAw Writer
Gail Goldberg CSA Casting Director
Rebecca Thomas Agent
Alissa Vradenburg
Po Kutchins Showrunner
Jonathan Prince WGA, DGA, SAG
Howard Michael Gould Writer
Melissa Center Actor, Filmmaker
Judy Gols Sag/Aftra, WGA, Actors Equity
Cameron Curtis
Maya Lasry
Shir Samari
Avital Levy
Sarah Afkami WGA Writer
Alon Aranya
Sam Feuer SAG/AFTRA Actor/Producer
Bruce Resnikoff
Ori Elon Shtisel Screenwriter
Jeremy Padow Screenwriter
Deborah Marcus
Betsy Borns WGAW Writer/Producer
Craig Singer p.g.a. Producer
Judie Aronson SAG-AFTRA
Beth Milstein WGAW Writer
Frederic Richter
Jerry Weil SAG-AFTRA Actor
Dena Roth Ampas Set decorator
Rachel Kaplan PGA
Asher Weinberger
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg CEO, Platinum Studios Inc.
Marci Liroff AMPAS Intimacy Coordination
Leslie Belzberg AMPAS, PGA Self Employed
Adam Kulbersh
Sharon Bialy CSA, Academy of Motion Pictures Member Casting Director
Michael Auerbach
Sharon Lieblein CSA, teamsters local 399 Casting Director
Sharona Beck
Daniel Kaufman DGA Director
Mark Pellegrino SAG Actor
Limor Gott Producer
Anna April-Ross
Ophira Dagan Producer
Hank Steinberg WGA / DGA Writer / Director / Producer
Rabbi David Wolpe Sinai Temple/ Harvard U
Estelle Lasher
Erez Rosenberg Attorney / Partner at Jackoway Austen et al
Natalie Shampanier WGA
Jarred Weisfeld Publishing
Carmi Zlotnik
Tovah Feldshuh SAG-AFTRA-EQUITY ACTOR
Rotem Alima Executive Producer
Scott Melrose Talent Agent
Dan Kaufman VFX Supervisor/VFX Producer
Moran Atias SAG Actress producer
Emmanuelle Chriqui Sag Actor
Barbara Lazaroff ASID Commercial designer, restaurateur, businesswoman
Iddo Goldberg SAG Actor
Esther Netter
Jordan Roberts SAG-AFTRA Actor & Producer, Content Creator
Jay Shore
Shanni Suissa CEO, Jews Talk Justice
Scott Levine DGA Producer
Andrea cayton
Vincent LeGrow
Art Levitt Self
Aliza J. Sokolow
Chava Floryn Filmmaker/Actress Twin Rose Media
Rami Rivera Frankl DGA
Barbara Heller SAG Actor writer producer
Shauna Perlman Agent
Jeremy Goldscheider Producer
Jonathan Rosen
Ken Hertz Hertz Lichtenstein Young & Polk
Lea Porter The Beverly Hills Estates
Lorin Green
Ginette Rhodes SAG AFTRA AEA
Sue Steinberg
Jodi Fleisher SAG/Aftra Actor
Kimberly Wallis SAG/AFTRA Actor
Avital Onn Shachar Business Affairs
Odeya Rush
Stella Evans Self
Craig Emanuel Entertainment Executive
Elyssa Nicole Trust
David S. Rosenthal WGA
Loris Kramer Lunsford Producer
Kory Lunsford Producer
Dani Menkin
Rabbi Marvin Hier
Allison Lahav
Raphael Margules
Micha Liberman 700 editors guild Owner Mind Meld Arts
Shep Rosenman Attorney
Lee Weinberg Weinberg Gonser LLP
Josh Schaer WGA TV writer / producer
John Fogelman
Montana Tucker
Lori Alan SAG-AFTRA Actress/producer/writer
Melissa Greenspan Sag-aftra
Ross Greenberg
Bruce Franklin DGA Producer
Howard Reichman Producer/director
Spencer Berman Producer
David Fury WGA/DGA/SAG-AFTRA Round Swamp Entertainment
Rinat Arinos
Wendy Sachs WGA Director/Producer
Elin Hampton WGA/SAG-AFTRA Round Swamp Entertainment
Andrea Barros Retired
Linda Burstyn WGA
Rabbi Yonah Bookstein
Marcus J Freed SAG-e
Bonnie Greenberg Music supervisor/producer/professor
Shie Rozow Motion Picture Editors Guild Composer, Music Editor
Dan Redfeld AFM Local 47 Composer
Omri Lahav
Lior Rosner ASCAP Rosner Music Inc.
Eitan Chitayat Creative Director
Robin Lippin Local 399 and CSA casting director
Jason Venokur WGA
Saul Blinkoff
Joanie Leeds Recording Academy
Jeffrey Braer Former SAG/AFTRA Independent Writer/Producer & Theme Park Developer
Rena Strober Sag-Aftra Actor
Liron Artzi
Ariella Noveck
Gary Gilbert Gilbert Films
Leah Gottfried
Brian Frazer
Daniel Alcheh SCL
Debi Pomerantz
Amy Straus WGA Writer
Inbal B. Lessner ACE Executive Producer/Editor
Ivan Menchell Writers Guild Writer/Producer
Mark Schiff
Jon Polk
Rahman Daneshgar Retired
Sam Wasserman Producers Guild, Academy of Television Producer
Caryn Osofsky SAG SAG actress and director
Andrew Avner
David Kekst
Ben Cosgrove CEO, Leviathan Productions
Hawk Koch PGA, DGA, AMPAS Producer
Julie D. Holman WIFT Independent film, Director, writer, and producer
Michael Robertson Moore
Jamie Elman SAG, WGA YidLife Crisis
Robert Kaplan
Jo LaMond WGA Self
Benjamin Rapoport
Jacob Fenton UTA Agent
Natalie Marciano President/ Producer
Carin Sage EVP, Feature Film, Skydance Prods
Tracy-Ann Oberman Actor
Lawrence Bender Producer
Amy Pascal Producer
Sherry Lansing Producer
Doug Mankoff Producer
STATEMENT FROM JEWISH HOLLYWOOD PROFESSIONALS
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.
Jonathan Glazer: Thank you so much. I’m going to read, I’m afraid.
Thank you to the Academy for this honor and to our partners A24 Films for access and Polish Film Institute, to the Stead Museum for their trust and guidance, to my producers, actors, collaborators.
All our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present, not to say look what they did then, but rather look what we do now.
Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst. It’s shaped all of our past and present. 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? Alexandria, the girl who glows in the film as she did in life, chose to. I dedicate this to her memory and her resistance. Thank you.
Variety first posted the news on the open letter.
