Clearly, Hollywood is divided when it comes to the heart-wrenching events taking place in Israel and Palestine. While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, celebrities’ stance on the tragedy is affecting both their fanbases and their work. Still, they continue to speak up about the atrocities and Jewish filmmaker Steven Spielberg has finally come out to directly address the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Fans have been wondering for a long time why Steven Spielberg, who is so vocal about his Jewish roots, has been silent about Gaza and Israel. And now, the filmmaker has finally broken his silence and has publicly expressed where he stands on the whole situation.
Steven Spielberg Addresses Israel-Gaza Conflict
Director and founder of the USC Shoah Foundation, Steven Spielberg, talked about the Israel-Gaza conflict in the speech he gave during the foundation’s ceremony honoring the survivors of the Holocaust. Spielberg started off by stating that he’s afraid history will have to be repeated and Jews will once again have to fight for their rights to be Jewish.
Spielberg said (via The Guardian),
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. I am increasingly alarmed that we may be condemned to repeat history – to once again have to fight for the very right to be Jewish.”
The Schindler’s List director then went on to talk about how extremist views and intolerance can lead to a world where differences are not celebrated and condemned the “dehumanization” of any group based on their beliefs and differences.
“The echoes of history are unmistakable in our current climate. The rise of extremist views has created a dangerous environment, and radical intolerance leads a society to no longer celebrate differences but instead conspire to demonise those who are different to the point of creating ‘the Other’… This is happening alongside anti-Muslim, Arab, and Sikh discrimination. The creation of ‘the Other’ and the dehumanisation of any group based on their differences, is the foundation of fascism.”
Next, Spielberg directly talked about the conflict, echoing the voices of many Hollywood celebrities who condemn both October 7th, as well as the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza.
“We can rage against the heinous acts committed by the terrorists of October 7th and also decry the killing of innocent women and children in Gaza.”
Spielberg’s stance on the conflict seems rather neutral as the filmmaker did not strongly denounce one side or the other, unlike many other Jewish creatives who recently signed a letter denouncing director Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar speech.
Steven Spielberg Didn’t Condemn Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar Speech
The Oscars this year weren’t like anything we have seen before. Celebrities, including Mark Ruffalo, openly supported Gaza through red pins on their clothes and urged people to speak against the disaster going on in the Middle East. However, it was Glazer whose stance ended up being the most memorable one of the night.
While accepting an Oscar for The Zone of Interest, Glazer said,
“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 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza — all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?”
The filmmaker has been greatly misquoted after his speech which led to him being on the receiving end of hate from people. However, many stood strongly in support of him, as well. The aftereffects of Glazer’s speech, though, were quite drastic. Over 450 Jewish creatives and tycoons came together to sign an open letter denouncing his Oscar speech. The statement given by the group read,
“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.”
While Spielberg’s sister, Nancy Spielberg, signed the letter, the Jaws director did not do so causing many to speculate about his views on the conflict. Well, now you know.
