Rebecca Sapp/Getty Photos for SBIFF
One among America’s most celebrated writers and one among Steven Spielberg’s go-to collaborators spoke out at the moment on the Haaretz Podcast in regards to the controversy over Jonathan Glazer‘s speech after Zone of Curiosity gained Finest Worldwide Characteristic Movie on the Oscars.
Talking about protests within the U.S. and their impacts, Tony, Emmy and Pulitzer Prize-winner Tony Kushner expressed shock at what he referred to as, “the blowback after Jonathan Glazer’s actually kind of unimpeachable, irrefutable assertion on the Oscars.”
Requested if he recognized Glazer’s feedback, Kushner replied, “In fact. I imply, who doesn’t?”
For context, right here is the whole lot of Glazer’s speech:
Thanks a lot. I’m going to learn, I’m afraid.
Thanks to the Academy for this honor and to our companions A24 Movies for entry and Polish Movie Institute, to the Stead Museum for his or her belief and steering, to my producers, actors, collaborators.
All our decisions have been made to replicate and confront us within the current, to not say look what they did then, however somewhat look what we do now.
Our movie exhibits the place dehumanization leads at its worst. It’s formed all of our previous and current. Proper now, we stand right here as males who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to battle for therefore many harmless folks.
Whether or not the victims of October — whether or not the victims of October the seventh in Israel or the continued assault on Gaza, all of the victims of this dehumanization, how will we resist? Alexandria, the woman who glows within the movie as she did in life, selected to. I dedicate this to her reminiscence and her resistance. Thanks.
“What [Glazer’s] saying is so, is so easy,” maintained Kushner. “He’s saying Jewishness, Jewish id, Jewish historical past, the historical past of the Holocaust, the historical past of Jewish struggling should not be utilized in a marketing campaign as an excuse for a venture of dehumanizing or slaughtering different folks. This can be a misappropriation of what it means to be a Jew, what the Holocaust meant, and he rejects that.”
He continued, “Who doesn’t agree with that? What sort of particular person thinks that what’s happening now in Gaza is suitable? If you end up saying out loud and in public, ‘It’s superb with me ,what they’re doing,” since you really feel that it’s your solely alternative as a Jew is to defend the whole lot Israel does, disgrace on you.”
Greater than a thousand leisure business professionals signed a letter this week denouncing the Glazer’s speech.
“We refute our Jewishness being hijacked for the aim of drawing an ethical equivalence between a Nazi regime that sought to exterminate a race of individuals, and an Israeli nation that seeks to avert its personal extermination,” the letter states partly (learn it in full in full right here).
Nonetheless others, like She Stated star Zoe Kazan, have gone public with assist for Glazer, and a Change.org petition in his favour has amassed 1670 signatures.
Talking particularly in regards to the state of affairs within the Center East, Kushner appeared to recommend his views are evolving, by way of how one can reply.
“In my journey over the previous 5 months, I’ve moved nearer to the concept that possibly a boycott is important, however I can’t do it. I can’t separate myself from Israel.”
The purpose, he mentioned, is peace for everybody, together with Israelis.
“I need Israelis to have the ability to stay in peace…I imagine the occupation in Gaza…all of this stuff, don’t make Israel protected.”
