Some axed, some not: Hollywood’s divided game of words over Israel-Gaza conflict

Hollywood has, for long, close ties to Israel. This is a cause that tends to bring together prominent, liberal Jews such as Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Barbra Streisand as well as Jon Voight, a conservative non-Jew. It goes both ways. Israel, too, has historically enjoyed solid support in Hollywood. When the state was birthed in 1948, following the Holocaust, there was a capacity crowd at the Hollywood Bowl, who made merry of the event. During the celebration, the packed stadium was privy to a recorded message from founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion.

In 1967, another event – Rally for the Survival of Israel – at the same venue, demonstrated solidarity after the six-day war against the Arab states. Stars such as Frank Sinatra, Peter Sellers, and Barbra Streisand headlined the event.

However, the recent, or rather the current chapter in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, has left the Hollywood community divided. As decades passed by, a certain section of the community came to identify Israel as a US-backed oppressor of the Palestinians and not as a left-leaning minnow. Israel’s bombing of Gaza has been met with outrage and demands for a ceasefire. But all came at a price.

While stars were “punished” for voicing their opinions, others were only left in the hands of the fan, who wanted the said stars to be cancelled.

For some time now, celebrities, as well as mass influencers, have taken it upon themselves to comment as moral arbiters during major crises. The social media life that they live, has an unnecessary pressure of commenting on the issues. More often than not, their voices come out wrong.

While the entertainment industry has, in the past, shown tremendous unity over Donald Trump’s presidency, Black Lives Matter, and abortion rights, among others, the war between Israel and Hamas has left Hollywood in muddy waters. The environment is rife with terms such as antisemitism and genocide, and in some cases, the terms are being used casually, fuelling further distraught within the communities.

The term has not only caused controversy within Hollywood but also outside. The United Nations defines genocide as “a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part.”

“Hollywood has traditionally been involved in all sorts of political and social issues,” NBC News quoted Stephen Zunes, a professor of Middle Eastern and North African politics at the University of San Francisco, as saying.

One-time allies are throwing verbal volleys and accusing each other of censorship, hypocrisy, and betrayal; high-profile stars, who are taking a stand, are being abused, being ostracised, and fired, among other punishments.

“Gone are the days of keeping mum on what were considered taboo topics. The pressure to speak up has intensified, because, for some, silence equals condoning bad behavior,” said Eden Gillott, president of Gillott Communications in Los Angeles told The Guardian.

“Silence can speak louder than words, but fumbling through a rushed response often does more damage than staying silent,” he added.

Examples of pressure were evident on social media, where celebrities tried to mitigate a harsh conflict that has seen hundreds and thousands of deaths and counting on both sides of the Israel-Gaza Strip border.

One might remember the star-studded rendition of John Lenon’s “Imagine” during the coronavirus pandemic. For those who closely followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, AnnaLynne McCord’s poem will not be a stranger. Continuing the trend, pop singer Justin Bieber posted a photo of destruction in the Gaza Strip, captioning it as “Praying for Israel”, and Farrah Abraham misspelling Hamas (hummus) like a pita dip.

Crisis communications professionals, who followed what the celebrities had to say, don’t fault the stars for putting words to their thoughts but believe that these events could’ve been avoided if due diligence had been done and the public pulse had been checked.

At the receiving end

Stars such as comedian Amy Schumer and Noah Schnapp of “Stranger Things,” were at the receiving end for pro-Israel social media activity. Another actress Julianna Margulies drew clapback after saying on a podcast that Black Americans had “been brainwashed to hate Jews.”

Susan Sarandon was axed by United Talent Agency, and Melissa Barrera was fired from Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream’ franchise following accusations of antisemitism. Sarandon had said that Jews “are getting a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim in this country”, while Barrera had posted suggesting Western media bias favoring Israel.

Both had later apologized and condemned antisemitism alongside Islamophobia.

UTA confirmed it cut ties with Sarandon but didn’t comment further. Spyglass said, “We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form.”

Maha Dakhil, an agent at Creative Artists Agency, faced criticism after a post she made on social media accused Israel of “genocide.” She later apologised.

Some members also criticized the Writers Guild of America after it failed to immediately send out a statement condemning the Hamas assault.

The likes of Rihanna, Jonathan Demme, and Selena Gomez also faced wrath when they publicly expressed solidarity with the Palestinians.

The war also prompted a response from other industry stars such as Jon Voight, Joan Rivers, and Howard Stern. In an open letter, Voight wrote, “My name is Jon Voight and I am more than angry. I am heartsick that people like Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem could incite anti-Semitism all over the world and are oblivious to the damage they have caused.”

Other stars such as Mark Ruffalo and Wallace Shawn, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, and director Demme experienced rude comments since taking a stand.

“I don’t see this as being politics or statehood for Palestine or Hamas,” Demme, who directed Silence of the Lambs, told AP. “I think it’s about taking innocent lives and the destruction of a culture. I’ve never been ashamed of my pacifist point of view of things at any time since I became a card-carrying hippie back in the ’60s.”

‘People are being penalised’

‘Sex and the City’ star used her platform to talk about a cause, but little did she know that she was stepping into a Hollywood rift.

“People are being penalized for speaking out,” says Nixon, wearing a long black coat and cream scarf and holding a water bottle. “But there are a lot of actors and performers getting together a response to that and saying, ‘Hey, this isn’t OK,’ we may not agree about everything – and maybe some of us can express ourselves a little more carefully – but it doesn’t mean that people should then lose their livelihoods.”

During her rally in front of the White House, she spoke about how certain terms are being thrown around casually, causing distress, pointing towards the firing of Barrera.

“Antisemitism is no joke. It’s a terrifying force: 6 million Jews were killed in World War II. But to see anybody saying that any criticism of the far-right Israeli government, which is wildly unpopular with its own people, is antisemitic? Antisemitism is not a political football to be tossed around by warmongers. It’s a serious thing that we mustn’t tarnish and abuse and put up every time somebody says something that we disagree with or that scares us.”

Second chances and choosing words judiciously

Professor Zunes said, “There’s an understandable reason that a lot of people will … look at things as a very black-and-white issue and not really understand the complexities of this long-running conflict.

Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the greater Los Angeles area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the disciplinary actions in Hollywood reflect a “double standard and selective enforcement.”

“These regulations tend to surface or be invoked predominantly when Israel becomes the subject of such commentary, often with the intention of suppressing valid critiques,” he said.

“Rarely do we witness any uproar from these entities or the industry at large when an actor voices concerns about human rights abuses by countries like China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran or even our own country.”

Bradey Fischer, the producer of ‘The Shutter Island’ and ‘Black Swan’, said, “I don’t agree that if someone who puts their foot in their mouth, says something that they regret saying, apologizes for it once they understand that what they said was wrong — that there shouldn’t be a chance to correct that.”

Noah Schnapp, who is one of the few, who did not get the axe, clarified his earlier statements by saying, “I feel like my thoughts and beliefs have been so far misconstrued from anything even close to what I believe and I wanted to just state from my heart how I feel. I only want peace and safety and security for all innocent people affected by this conflict,” Schnapp said.

“We have a moral duty to speak up”

Saira Rao, an author and activist, said that she was never informed on where the line falls. She was dropped as a client from her theatre agency CAA for allegedly using the word ‘genocide’ in her online post – where she criticised Israel on social media, calling Zionists “bloodthirsty” and “genocidal.”

“We have a moral duty to speak up,” she said. “A lot of us are doing that, and in response people are getting fired. Shame on those institutions for silencing people who are doing the right thing.”

With months gone by, the entertainment industry is still struggling with how to talk about the war between Israel and Hamas. Certain sections of Hollywood say that their lips are being shut for speaking out on human rights, others think that “surging antisemitism requires clearer lines between free speech and hate speech, and repercussions for crossing them.”

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