UPDATE: More than 300 Jewish creatives — including eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, “SNL” star Sarah Sherman, actor and documentarian Alex Winter and “Seinfeld” writer Larry Charles — have added their names to the list of signatories of an open letter in support of Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars speech.
The number of signees now sits at 492, having more than tripled since Variety first published the April 5 letter, which criticized the attacks on Glazer for being a “dangerous distraction” from the mounting death toll in Gaza while also contributing to the “suppression of free speech and dissent.”
New additions also include Oscar-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” co-writer Arthur Harari, veteran U.K. producer and Oscar winner Jeremy Thomas, “Girls” co-showrunner and co-writer Jenni Konner and “The Hunger Games” writer and director and four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross. Many members of the Israeli film community have also signed the open letter, including Oren Moverman, Nadav Lapid, Yuval Abraham, Itay Tiran, Menashe Noy and Avi Mograbi.
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“We see violence and suffering against the innocent all over the world. And we as a country contribute to much of it,” Charles said in a statement to Variety. “How do we cheer for bombed out hospitals, starving children and even the senseless slaughter of aid workers? Who are we and how did we get this way? Have you noticed how few Palestinian voices are given a forum in our mainstream media? Even Jews who question Israel’s policies like Norman Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky and Gabor Maté are silenced. There will never be peace without truth. And you can only hide the truth so long.”
Among the original list of 151 signees were high-profile names such as Joaquin Phoenix, Elliott Gould and Chloe Fineman. Others included Phoenix’s sister Rain, three-time Oscar nominee Debra Winger, “May December” director Todd Haynes, “Sorry to Bother You” helmer Boots Riley, acclaimed filmmaker Joel Coen, “Room” director Lenny Abrahamson, “Arrested Development” star David Cross, documentarian Amy Berg, “Barbie” actor Hari Nef, legendary playwright Tom Stoppard, former Focus Pictures CEO James Schamus, comedian Kate Berlant, “You Hurt My Feelings” director Nicole Holofcener, “Secrets & Lies” auteur Mike Leigh, “Passages” filmmaker Ira Sachs, “Gossip Girl” actor and writer Tavi Gevinson, “The Princess Bride” actor Wallace Shawn, “Bottoms” director Emma Seligman, “Mistress America” star Lola Kirke, “Zola” helmer Janicza Bravo, “Broad City” stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson and IndieWire film critic David Ehrlich.
Variety has reached out to personal representatives for many of the signatories, as well as independently reviewed documents confirming their participation.
In a statement to Variety, Ilana Glazer said, “I signed this letter to help counter the climate of silencing that many workplaces and industries are facing around Israel’s war on Gaza, now entering its seventh month. This controversy surrounding Jonathan Glazer is just one example.”
Added Schamus, “It has been weeks since Jonathan Glazer’s acceptance speech at the Academy Awards, but, as we’re reminded by this week’s unconscionable killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers — and of countless more Palestinian civilians — his plea for humanity has only become more urgent, as has our duty as Jewish creatives to protest the vicious smear campaign waged against him.”
According to Máte, Glazer’s Oscar statement renouncing the “co-optation of Jewish suffering to justify Israeli war crimes” aligns with the “highest prophetic values of Judaism, which place universal truth and justice above narrow identification with one group over another.” He added, “Never again is for all!”
His words were met with both backlash and praise. In an open letter published on March 18, over 1,000 Jewish creatives and execs denounced Glazer’s speech for helping to fuel “growing anti-Jewish hatred around the world,” while others like director Ken Loach have come to his defense by calling his statement “brave” and “hugely valuable.” Tony Kushner described his speech as “unimpeachable, irrefutable.”. Glazer has yet to publicly address the reaction to the speech, but he has donated seven signed “Zone of Interest” posters and other film memorabilia to a Cinema for Gaza auction raising money for Medical Aid for Palestinians.
“We are Jewish artists, filmmakers, writers and creative professionals who support Jonathan Glazer’s statement from the 2024 Oscars. We were alarmed to see some of our colleagues in the industry mischaracterize and denounce his remarks,” the open letter reads. “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 Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the 253 hostages taken.”
The letter continues, “The attacks on Glazer also have a silencing effect on our industry, contributing to a broader climate of suppression of free speech and dissent, the very qualities our field should cherish. Glazer, Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg and countless other artists of all backgrounds have decried the killing of Palestinian civilians. We should all be able to do the same without being wrongly accused of fueling antisemitism.”
“We honor the Holocaust by saying: Never again for anyone,” the statement concludes.
Read the full open letter and see the list of signees below.
We are Jewish artists, filmmakers, writers, and creative professionals who support Jonathan Glazer’s statement from the 2024 Oscars. We were alarmed to see some of our colleagues in the industry mischaracterize and denounce his remarks. 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 Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the 253 hostages taken.
The attacks on Glazer also have a silencing effect on our industry, contributing to a broader climate of suppression of free speech and dissent, the very qualities our field should cherish. Glazer, Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg and countless other artists of all backgrounds have decried the killing of Palestinian civilians. We should all be able to do the same without being wrongly accused of fueling antisemitism.
In his speech, Glazer asked how we can resist the dehumanization that has led to mass atrocities throughout history. For such a statement to be taken as an affront only underscores its urgency. We should be able to name Israel’s apartheid and occupation — both recognized by leading human rights organizations as such — without being accused of rewriting history.
As the Director of the Auschwitz Memorial, Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, wrote, “’The Zone of Interest‘ is not a film about the Shoah. It is primarily a profound warning about humanity and its nature.” We must not reserve this warning for a single group. To preserve our humanity and ensure our mutual survival, we must sound the alarm when any group faces such brutality and acts of erasure.
We are proud Jews who denounce the weaponization of Jewish identity and the memory of the Holocaust to justify what many experts in international law, including leading Holocaust scholars, have identified as a “genocide in the making.” We reject the false choice between Jewish safety and Palestinian freedom. We stand with all those calling for a permanent ceasefire, including the safe return of all hostages and the immediate delivery of aid into Gaza, and an end to Israel’s ongoing bombardment of and siege on Gaza.
We honor the memory of the Holocaust by saying: Never again for anyone.
Signed,
- Lenny Abrahamson
- Anne Aghion
- Ra’anan Alexandrowicz
- Sapphire Allard
- Erin Allweiss
- Udi Aloni
- Emma Alpert
- Lital Amos
- Shira Arad
- Livia Arditti
- Philip Arditti
- Mark Asch
- Hannah Assadi
- Liran Atzmor
- Michal Aviad
- Yuval Avraham
- Erin Axelman
- Hadas Ayalon
- Shimon Azulay
- Annie Baker
- Ned Baker
- Todd Banhazl
- Ariela Barer
- Morgan Bassichis
- Joshuah Bearman
- Brad Becker-Parton
- Ella Ben Ami
- Ayelet Ben Zvi
- Yotam Ben-David
- Abner Benaim
- Marina Benjamin
- Amy Berg
- Jordana Berg
- Kate Berlant
- Molly Bernard
- Avner Bernheimer
- Matt Bernstein
- Vidi Bilu
- Simone Bitton
- Yael Bitton
- Hannah Black
- Juliet Blake
- Joshua Blum
- Amir Bogen
- Clare Bogen
- Gregg Bordowitz
- Agnes Borinsky
- Sagi Bornstein
- Serge Bozon
- Zoë Bradley
- Charles Bramesco
- Judy Brandman
- Janicza Bravo
- Hugh Brody
- Robert Brooks Cohen
- Margaret Brown
- Natalie Brown
- Dan Bucatinsky
- Caitlin Mae Burke
- Igal Burstyn
- Isaac Butler
- Shai Carmeli-Pollak
- Daria Carmon
- Daniel Chalfen
- Estee Chandler
- Larry Charles
- Mstyslav Chernov
- Michelle Citron
- Anne Coatman
- Joel Coen
- Dan Cogan
- Debra Rae Cohen
- David Cohen
- Roy Cohen
- Jem Cohen
- Josh Cohen
- Erika Cohn
- Dominic Cooke
- Arielle Cooper-Lethem
- Molly Crabapple
- David Cross
- Christine D’Souza Gelb
- Israel Dadon
- Harris Danow
- Mona Davis
- Jeff Deutchman
- Ira Deutchman
- Scott Dougan
- Sandi DuBowski
- Cyrus Dunham
- Danielle Dutton
- Diana Edelman
- David Ehrlich
- Yaniv Eidelstein
- Sam Eilertsen
- Spike Einbinder
- Deborah Eisenberg
- Nicole Eisenman
- Mali Elfman
- Shlomi Elkabetz
- Dikla Jika Elkaslassy
- Tal Elkayam
- Revital Elkayam
- Danae Elon
- Tamar Ettun
- Anat Even
- Avner Faingulernt
- David Farr
- Isaac Feldberg
- Charley Feldman
- Michael J. Feldman
- Sam Ferguson
- Connie Field
- Chloe Fineman
- Taliya Finkel
- Jo Firestone
- Jordan Firstman
- Jordan Fish
- Frances Fisher
- Jessie Fisher
- Liz Flahive
- Rachel Fleit
- Rachel Fletcher
- Sarah Sophie Flicker
- Ido Fluk
- Yael Fogiel
- Naomi Foner
- Megan Jessica Ford
- Esther Freud
- Bella Freud
- Sarah Friedland
- Ariel Friedlander
- Uri Fruchtmann
- Niv Fux
- Leah Galant
- Doron Galezer
- Noah Galvin
- Alma Ganihar
- Sid Ganis
- Aaron Costa Ganis
- Sarah Gavron
- Tamara Gayer
- Gabriella M. Geisinger
- Tony Gerber
- Tavi Gevinson
- Ilana Glazer
- Sam Gold
- Gali Gold
- Natalie Gold
- Jimmy Goldblum
- Lyn Goldfarb
- Daniel Goldhaber
- Nan Goldin
- Julie Goldman
- Connor Goldsmith
- Kayla Goldstein
- Eli Goldstone
- Ben Goldwasser
- Yoni Golijov
- Caroline Golum
- Josh Gondelman
- Sarah Goodman
- Robert Goodman
- Josh Gordon
- Talia Goshen
- Lisa Gossels
- David Gottlieb
- Elliott Gould
- Tal Granit
- Miles Greenberg
- Michael Greif
- Mercedes Grower
- Dalia Hagar
- Doron Max Hagay
- Gordon Hall
- Katie Halper
- Arthur Harari
- Mark Harris
- Todd Haynes
- Fred Hechinger
- Barak Heymann
- Lee Hirsch
- Eliza Hittman
- Tracie Holder
- Anna Rose Holmer
- Nicole Holofcener
- Rachael Horovitz
- Kate Hurwitz
- Eva Husson
- Eytan Ipeker
- Ilan Isakov
- Ari Issler
- Natasha Jacobs
- Abbi Jacobson
- Kristi Jacobson
- Rachel Leah Jones
- Miranda July
- Vladimir Jurowski
- Jennifer Kabat
- Jessica Kahkoska
- Cedric Kahn
- Deborah Kalin
- Michael Kaminer
- Michael Kaminer
- Albert Hanan Kaminski
- Brian A. Kates
- Marina Katz
- Jason Adam Katzenstein
- David Katznelson
- Deborah Kaufman
- Aron Keller
- Ella Kemp
- Sara Kiener
- Lola Kirke
- Dan Kitrosser
- Maya Klar
- Alison Klayman
- Naomi Klein
- Marj Kleinman
- Jason Kloit
- Yotam Knispel
- Pamela Koffler
- Jess Kohl
- Jenni Konner
- Philippa Kowarsky
- Maris Kreizman
- Lisa Kron
- Justin Kuritzkes
- Andrea Kurland
- Lauren Kushner
- Rachel Kushner
- Serge Lalou
- Nadav Lapid
- Laura Lapidus
- Anthony Lappé
- Julliette Larthe
- Matt Lavine
- Alison Leiby
- Mike Leigh
- Cindi Leive
- Libby Lenkinski
- Adam Leon
- Tia Lessin
- Jonathan Lethem
- Blake Lethem
- Naomi Levari
- Mica Levi
- Adam Levite
- Avi Lewis
- Michael Lieberman
- Eliav lilti
- Joanne Limburg
- Ardele Lister
- Jennie Livingston
- Ram Loevy
- Sharon Lomofsky
- Melody London
- Richard Lorber
- Judith Lou-Lévy
- Kyle Lukoff
- Amanda Lundquist
- Dave Macklovitch
- Yael Magnes
- Liz Magnes
- Rafi Magnes
- Noa Maiman
- Alex Mallis
- Daniel Mann
- Adam Mansbach
- Darius Marder
- Susan Margolin
- Miriam Margolyes
- Steven Markovitz
- Sam Marks
- Daniel Maté
- Gabor Maté
- Griffin Maxwell Brooks
- Lise Mayer
- So Mayer
- Bar Mayer
- Jane Mayle
- Sharon Maymon
- Hilla Medalia
- Shauly Melamed
- Jeff Melnick
- Alan Menken
- Nina Menkes
- Carly Mensch
- Yoel Meranda
- Dara Messinger
- Jonathan Meth
- Collier Meyerson
- Shirli Nada Michalevicz
- Arlette Mintzer
- Avi Mograbi
- Sophie Monks Kaufman
- Mik Moore
- Hadar Morag
- Michael Morris
- Crystal Moselle
- Benjamin Moser
- Laura Moss
- Robb Moss
- Oren Moverman
- Ilana Navaro
- Hari Nef
- Monika Estrella Negra
- Laraine Newman
- Chani Nicholas
- Udi Nir
- Sara Nodjoumi
- Menashe Noy
- Annie Ohayon
- Charlie Olsky
- Yuval Orr
- David Osit
- Stephanie Palumbo
- Nira Park
- Zeena Parkins
- Ted Passon
- Ofrit Peres
- Timna Rose Perets
- Sinai Peter
- Sierra Pettengill
- Charlie Phillips
- Summer Phoenix
- Joaquin Phoenix
- Rain Phoenix
- Janis Plotkin
- Max Posner
- Naama Preis
- Jeff Preiss
- Francine Prose
- Kate Quarfordt
- David Quesemand
- Sarah Ramos
- Mark Rappaport
- Allon Reich
- Leo Reich
- Gini Reticker
- Boots Riley
- Howard A. Rodman
- Mark Romanek
- Jonathan Romney
- Michal Ron
- Yael Ronen
- Jon Ronson
- Jacqueline Rose
- Anna Rose
- Louise Rosen
- Roee Rosen
- Michael Rosen
- Martin Rosenbaum
- Jason Rosenberg
- Dani Rosenberg
- Dani Rosenberg
- Jay Rosenblatt
- Jessica Rosner
- Tessa Ross
- Gary Ross
- Alyssa Ross
- Joanna Rothkopf
- Jed Rothstein
- Shahar Rozen
- Ira Sachs
- Nathan Salstone
- Lisa Salzer
- Lauren Sandler
- Alexei Sayle
- Tilly Scantlebury
- Alec Gorman Schachner
- Beth Schacter
- James Schamus
- Adam Scheflan
- Tonje Hessen Schei
- Aaron Schimberg
- Jillian Schlesinger
- Ken Schneider
- Jane Schoenbrun
- Sarah Schulman
- Anya Schulman
- Ariel Schweitzer
- Amber Sealey
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- Rona Segal
- Arik Segev
- Emma Seligman
- Shaul Setter
- Zohar Shachar
- Avner Shahaf
- Guy Shaham
- Yoav Shamir
- Tomer Sharon
- Wallace Shawn
- Tal Shefi
- Noam Sheizaf
- Meredith Shepherd
- Sarah Sherman
- Mel Shimkowitz
- Neta Shoshani
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- Roy Shtayim
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- Misha Shulman
- Yishai Shuster
- Noam Shuster Eliassi
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- Laurel Sills
- Nathan Silver
- Shelly Silver
- Gil Sima
- Michael Simon
- Doug Singer
- Michael Skolnik
- Jenny Slattery
- Gillian Slovo
- Robyn Slovo
- Shawn Slovo
- Sarah Adina Smith
- Alan Snitow
- Ben Snyder
- Romy Soleimani
- Alisa Solomon
- Nicole W. Solomon
- Morgan Spector
- Maya Steinberg
- Tom Stoppard
- Nina Streich
- Elisabeth Subrin
- Ginny Suss
- Arianne Sved
- Sweaty Eddie
- Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
- Liora Szylman
- Rebecca Tamás
- Kae Tempest
- Jeremy Thomas
- Lynne Tillman
- Itay Tiran
- Zohar Tirosh-Polk
- Eran Torbiner
- Joshua Gutterman Tranen
- Rachel Traub
- Sarah Tuft
- Pablo Utin
- V (formerly Eve Ensler)
- Alicia Van Couvering
- Raz Bar David Varon
- Misha Vertkin
- Dani Vilenski
- Sophie von Haselberg
- David Wachsmann
- Elie Wajeman
- Dagan Wald
- Natasha Walter
- Adam Weber
- Lindsey Weber
- Nick Wechsler
- Madeline Weinstein
- Jenna Weiss-Berman
- Einat Weizman
- Rachel Wells
- Ariel Wengroff
- Ye’ela Wilschanski
- Mara Wilson
- David Wilson
- Debra Winger
- Natalia Winkelman
- Alex Winter
- Matt Wolf
- Angela Workman
- Jeremy Workman
- Jeremy Yaches
- Oded Yedaya
- Addam Yekutieli
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- Saar Yogev
- Rebecca Yogev
- Yossi Zabari
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- Kate Zambreno
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- Alexander Zeldin
- Amy Ziering
- Tamara Zimet
- Amy Zimmer
- Debra Zimmerman
- Amnon Zlayet
- Itsik Zuarets
- Sophie Zucker
- Meital Zvieli
*Ehrlich is a critic at IndieWire, which shares a parent company, Penske Media, with Variety.