In the midst of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights that lasts eight days, I just came across a rather distressing letter that once again proves that for the Hollywood elite, Israel bashing is a 365-day-a-year tradition. This past September, the Toronto International Film Festival planned to honor the city of Tel-Aviv by highlighting its cinematic accomplishments. An open letter was sent to the festival, condemning it for spotlighting Israel in wake of what they view as Israel’s wrongful use of force against the Palestinians. The letter also mentioned the absence of any Palestinian filmmakers in the festival.
Condemning Israel for defending itself against Palestinian terrorism, which is what this letter did, is condoning terror. Remember, Israelis do not strap bombs to themselves and commit mass murder while their families rejoice that their now deceased loved one gave his life for a noble cause and is now in the company of 72 virgins.
The artists who signed this letter obviously wanted their positions known. Good. I want their positions known too, so remember these names next time you think about plopping down $13.00 at your local multiplex or seeing a play or buying a book or CD:
Harry Belafonte
David Byrne
Noam Chomsky
Julie Christie
Eve Ensler
Jane Fonda
Danny Glover
Ken Loach
Viggo Mortensen
Jeremy Pikser
Wallace Shawn
Alice Walker
There were many more names attached to this disgusting letter, which can be read here, but the names above are the most well-known. It’s no surprise that loony lefties like Belafonte, Fonda, and Glover would sign such a letter, but particularly upsetting for me is that Wallace Shawn signed it. I have always been a great admirer of Shawn’s work, but a recent book of essays he published included a brutal rant against Israel.
There are a disturbing number of American Jews in big cities who are aggressively self-hating and even go so far as to participate in anti-Israel rallies. I remember seeing one such protest here in New York City’s Union Square while on a cross-town bus. I was not near a bus window that could open but I was so enraged that I could not help but show my protest with a universal finger gesture.
A pro-Palestinian woman holding a hateful placard yelled to me, “You’re for killing innocent children?” Since I could not verbally respond, I nodded yes. Had my window been able to open, I would have said, “Yes, I am for killing children if those children are Palestinians who have been brainwashed to hate Jews and will grow up to murder innocent people.”
Why most Jews in the U.S. are liberal Democrats is a subject for another article, but Shawn (as well as Chomsky, Ensler, and Pikser) is representative of the far left, anti-Israel stance taken by many self-hating Jews in this country. And I just recently bought the Criterion Collection DVD of “My Dinner with Andre,” Shawn’s landmark independent film from 1981. Now when I watch it, I’ll need to take two TUMS.
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