David Schwimmer, 200 other stars sign scathing letter blasting Motion Picture Academy for ‘antisemitism'
Quote:
An advocacy group is blasting the Motion Picture Academy for its “inclusion effort that excludes Jews” — claiming it’s “steeped in antisemitism and misunderstands it.”
A letter to the Motion Picture Academy from the JITC Hollywood Bureau for Jewish Representation — “the first and only Jewish Hollywood bureau,” launched in 2021 and founded by Allison Josephs — claims its inclusion policy “erases Jewish peoplehood and perpetuates myths of Jewish whiteness, power, and that racism against Jews is not a major issue or that it’s a thing of the past.”
The letter has been signed by over 200 people, including David Schwimmer, Tiffany Haddish, Julianna Margulies, Michael Rapaport, Debra Messing, Ginnifer Goodwin and Marta Kauffman.
In August, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences amended its “Representation and Inclusion Standards” for the 96th Oscars, airing March 10 on ABC.
Regarding lead actors or “significant supporting actors from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups,” the academy included, among others, African American/Black/African and/or Caribbean descent; East Asian; Hispanic or Latina/e/o/x; Indigenous Peoples; Middle Eastern/North African; and Southeast Asian.
“Jewish people being excluded from the Motion Picture Academy’s Representation and Inclusion Standards is discriminating against a protected class by invalidating their historic and genetic identity,” the letter states.
“This must be addressed immediately by including Jews in the Motion Picture Academy’s Representation and Inclusion Standards.”
Other signees of the letter include Brett Gelman, Iliza Shlesinger, Elon Gold, Josh Dallas, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Mark Feuerstein.
This is not the first time the Motion Picture Academy has come under fire regarding inclusiveness in one form or another.
In 2015, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, created by activist/writer April Reign, went viral when, out of 20 actors nominated that year, none were people of color.
Since then, the academy has tried to rectify that situation with its inclusivity policies.
“There is a duty for the entertainment world to do its part in disseminating whole and human depictions of Jews, to increase understanding and empathy in viewers in these dangerous times,” the letter says.
Mistake.
The signers are asking to be part of a "DEI" system that at its core is harmful to Jews ("antisemitic" is hyperbole) because it views Jews as privileged white or white adjacent. This reminds me in a way of "Never Trumpers" who still think they can move the Republican Party back to the George Bush era. The Academy going "woke" will only hurt Jewish representation if Jewish actors let them. If you are a big-time Hollywood Star you have negotiating power most of us can only dream of. If you think Jewish themes are being underrepresented use that power. In my 66 years on this earth, Jewish themes being underrepresented might have happened in an alternate world, not the one I have lived in. Jewish representation won't be as high going forward not so much because of antisemitism but because in a more diverse country, there is more competition.
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