Jonathan Glazer condemned Israel's ongoing attacks on the
Gaza Strip at this year's Oscar Awards , but his speech has now been criticised by hundreds of Jewish creatives. The
British director accepted an Oscar for his film The Zone of Interest , which depicts a harrowing tale of a family living next to a concentration camp. Reading out his winning speech, Jonathan said: "All of our choices were made to confront us in the present. Not to say look what they did then, rather look what we do now. "Our film shows where dehumanisation 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. For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the
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Oscars in 1993 Jonathan Glazer spoke about the Israel-Hamas war ( Image: Getty Images) "Whether it’s the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all are victims of this dehumanisation. How do we resist?" He was met with applause as he spoke, but his comments have now been condemned and he's been accused of likening Israel's assault on Gaza to the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. An open letter has been signed by Hundreds of
Hollywood professionals, including Julianna Margulies, Debra Messing, Eli Roth and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The letter, which was published by Variety , 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. "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." Debra Messing is one of the stars behind the list ( Image: Getty Images) The letter also accused Jonathan of fuelling "a growing anti-Jewish hatred around the world". Holocaust survivor, David Schaecter, who spent three years at the Auschwitz death camp, has also written an open letter about the comments. He said: "You should be ashamed of yourself for using Auschwitz to criticise Israel." Earlier this week, Israeli troops stormed Gaza's largest hospital as they claimed Hamas fighters had regrouped there. Officials said around 30,000 were sheltering within the al-Shifa hospital compound in Gaza City when the attack was launched Monday morning. Critics accused the army of recklessly endangering the lives of innocents amid fears of rising civilian deaths within Gaza. The toll has reached more than 31,700. The UN food agency said “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza, where an estimated 210,000 people face catastrophic hunger. The World Food Programme warned that if Israel attacks the southern city of Rafah, this could rise to more than a million. Follow the Mirror US News page on
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