A war of open letters has erupted in Hollywood, with prominent figures on opposing sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict exchanging sharp public statements. The latest salvo came Wednesday morning when a group of Hollywood notables, including Shari Redstone, Sherry Lansing, Gary Barber, and Debra Messing, signed a missive denouncing the use of the word “genocide” to describe Israel's military actions in Gaza. The letter, boasting over 5,000 signatories from entertainment, politics, and academia, decried what they termed “the latest blood libel to be inflicted on the Jewish people."
For some signatories, like Haim Saban and producer Lawrence Bender, this was the second open letter in two weeks. They had previously signed a letter criticizing actor Mark Ruffalo for what they described as his use of “antisemitic tropes” in critiquing the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. A rival open letter, reportedly signed by approximately 180 self-identifying Jews, defended Ruffalo.
The open letter denouncing the use of "genocide" referenced the ancient Hebrew proverb, "A lie has no legs. We will not allow this lie to stand."
Ruffalo, who has toggled between criticizing and apologizing for linking the word "genocide" with Israel's actions, responded on social media, quoting the proverb, “The way you do one thing is the way you do everything.” The origin of this particular maxim is unclear, with the source noting it does not appear to be Hebrew.
Ruffalo also shared a link to a TechDirt article concerning allegations that a pro-merger group, Neighbors for Strong Communities, may have used “astroturf” tactics to create fake support for the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal. The TechDirt story aggregated an August 21 report from The Intercept detailing the origins of this group.
Wednesday's open letter also included signatories such as former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Harvard professor Steven Pinker. Pinker had previously written a letter in defense of Jeffrey Epstein, stating at the time he was unaware of the nature of the charges against Epstein.
Other Hollywood signatories to the pro-Israel letter include Jane Rosenthal, Susan Rovner, Fernando Szew, Ben Silverman, Howard Owens, Kevin Yorn, Sharon Osbourne, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anthony Edwards, Mayim Bialik, Maureen Lipman, Patricia Heaton, Jerry O’Connell, Matthew Weiner, Amy Sherman-Palladino, David Shore, Gary Gilbert, Danny Cohen, Neil Blair, Michael Rotenberg, David Kohan, Nancy Spielberg, Marty Adelstein, Teddy Schwarzman, Bradley Fischer, Howard Rosenman, Alec Sokolow, Rob Kutner, Rebecca De Mornay, and Emmanuelle Chriqui.
Sources close to pro-Palestinian messaging efforts in Hollywood suggest that the current political climate, coupled with the ongoing merger discussions and an anticipated Oscar season that could feature actors like Ruffalo and Javier Bardem, will likely compel more industry figures to publicly declare their stances. One source indicated, "The time is coming for people to declare where they are…"