Jonathan Glazer, 'The Zone of Interest' director's Oscars acceptance speech has ignited a significant controversy, drawing both criticism and support within Hollywood and beyond. The speech, interpreted as drawing parallels between the Holocaust and the current Israel-Gaza conflict, led to the publication of an open letter initially signed by 450 individuals, which quickly gained 500 additional signatures overnight. The letter criticizes Glazer's phrasing, accusing him of misusing Jewish identity for drawing moral equivalences. Despite the backlash, Glazer has found support from notable figures, including Tony Kushner, a four-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, who defended Glazer's remarks as 'unimpeachable and irrefutable.' Kushner, in an interview with the Haaretz Podcast, went further to describe the ongoing violence in Gaza as resembling 'ethnic cleansing.' The controversy has sparked a broader debate on the role of Hollywood in political discourse, with over 1,000 Jewish creatives, executives, and professionals in Hollywood now having signed the letter in opposition to Glazer's speech.
Jewish groups defend Oscar-winning director who criticised Israel's military offensive https://t.co/s97AZaWIAJ
In defence of Jonathan Glazer. @jvplive "In reality, Glazer speaks for the massive and growing number of Jews who honour our histories by joining our Palestinian siblings in their struggle for freedom and justice." https://t.co/6jUFIdFPrv
Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner came out in support of Jonathan Glazer's Oscar speech. “What kind of person thinks that what’s going on now in Gaza is acceptable?" https://t.co/GMq5mdLWYL
Powerful statement signed by some of the most prominent Jewish Americans. They openly repudiate AIPAC and America's "unwavering loyalty to Israel", calling to "break the chain that holds in place the unbearable tragedy of Israel/Palestine" https://t.co/btErcWZnuz Here's the…
Four-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Tony Kushner has come out in support of “The Zone of Interest” director Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars acceptance speech. In an interview with the “Haaretz Podcast,” Kushner said the ongoing violence in Gaza “looks a lot like ethnic… https://t.co/76TETWI0tZ
Tony Kushner Backs Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars Speech: ‘Looks a Lot Like Ethnic Cleansing to Me’ https://t.co/J2M4Hr8xxJ
This is the Tony Kushner I saw when I was writing grad school papers deep-diving into his work, 23 years ago. Very important message today and I hope it sinks in, in Israel. https://t.co/cU6SF8EZdP
Tony Kushner Speaks Out In Support Of Jonathan Glazer, Calls Oscar Speech An "Unimpeachable, Irrefutable Statement” https://t.co/Gw5eTWcO7S
I don't agree with Tony Kushner that what is happening in Gaza is "ethnic cleansing, " but I agree with this part fully... “What Glazer is saying is so, is so simple. He’s saying Jewishness, Jewish identity, Jewish history, the history of the Holocaust, the history of Jewish…
More than 100 prominent Jewish Americans wrote a letter against AIPAC. This is what heroes look like! I read some of the letter in the video below: #TikTok https://t.co/Qt1rgcNWXS
Tony Kushner Backs Jonathan Glazer's "Unimpeachable, Irrefutable" Oscars Speech: "Who Doesn't Agree With That?" https://t.co/6j4sU1MJGc
This is a moronic CNN review of "Zone of Interest." A Nazi pastoral film? The film has a constant drumbeat of horror lurking around the edges of every shot! You have to be blind not to have seen that! Höss's mother-in-law even flees their "idyllic" home in horror. I'm stunned. https://t.co/IBy30470ed
It concerns me that the author of this review of Zone of Interest does not seem to be familiar with Greek tragedies and their habit of putting the violence offstage. Everything in this film is unsaid and unseen. Therein lies the horror. https://t.co/msHSTfyVMV
Hell yeah Tony Kushner https://t.co/4FPcCTX9Ak
LISTEN: "It's been obvious to me that the occupation has been a moral catastrophe for Israel," award-winning playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner tells Haaretz Podcast, "But I had stupidly believed that there were limits" https://t.co/YqYZO2MFDK
Katherine Brodsky: Jonathan Glazer uses 'Jewishness' to hijack the Oscars and attack Israel https://t.co/6v9QNeinrp https://t.co/fi0DUU06dg
More than 1,000 Jews in Hollywood denounce director's 'occupation' speech on Israel-Hamas war at Oscars https://t.co/Gx7BTgHFGR https://t.co/rMDoLJ93do
I'm proud to be one of the 100+ Jewish-Americans who signed a statement opposing AIPAC https://t.co/BENmjWmbSZ
LISTEN: Award-winning playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner tells Haaretz Podcast why he's baffled by the controversy over director Jonathan Glazer's "unimpeachable and irrefutable" remarks at the 2024 Oscar Awards https://t.co/YqYZO2MFDK
Katherine Brodsky: Jonathan Glazer's Oscar speech blurs the lines between history and hyperbole https://t.co/imLFXrCf65 https://t.co/9Qmvql6Dhp
Unlike AIPAC we are American Jews who believe that US support for foreign governments should only be extended to those that respect the full human and civil rights, and right to self-determination, of all people. #RejectAIPAC Proud of JVPA staff and board on this critical letter https://t.co/yQi4hekgOY
This review did not understand the point of Zone of Interest at all. Of course you're supposed to relate to the family, the point is the banality and universality of indifference and dehumanization. It's not a particularlist or sectarian film. https://t.co/wFBZmJGiTU
Among the most deranged, media-illiterate reviews I've ever encountered. "While the evil of Nazism is an abstraction in the movie, out of sight and out of mind, viewers are invited to identify with the daily life of the family Höss." WHAT?!?! Turn the sound up, buddy! https://t.co/7JE721drpd
Wickedness rules in today’s film culture, such that Glazer can re-create Auschwitz as a sci-fi gimmick. \ This allows people to enjoy the film’s obscenity for their own hipster superiority. | @3xchair https://t.co/gXk90oM0Jn
Open letter condemning Oscar winner's Israel-Gaza speech doubles in signatures after going viral https://t.co/fWG5l1AP9b
Amid Backlash, Jonathan Glazer Finds Some Public Support In Hollywood & From Auschwitz Memorial Director https://t.co/9EKpVaSmLk
Jonathan Glazer's Oscar Speech Is Latest In Long Line Of Academy Award Political Controversies - A Look Back https://t.co/RNlq4xYnJN
#UPDATE: Over 1,000 Jewish creatives, executives, and Hollywood professionals have now signed this letter. https://t.co/NqL8wsuEob
'Zone of Interest' director Jonathan Glazer focused on sounds of the Holocaust to convey the horrors happening inside Auschwitz. https://t.co/IblEE2NfjI
My latest on the significance of the hundreds of Jews in Hollywood who have spoken out against Jonathan Glazer and stood up for Am Yisrael https://t.co/dF4hlWl1Jy
'For nobody, the entire award season to say one word about the hostages... was embarrassing and disappointing to me' @MichaelRapaport talks antisemitism and the deafening silence in Hollywood as 134 hostages remain in #Hamas captivity https://t.co/NPgzaoxxe5
The letter was first published Monday with 450 signatures, but another 500 people have attached themselves to the statement. The open letter intends to pushback on Glazer’s phrasing saying, “We refute our Jewishness being hijacked for the purpose of drawing a moral equivalence… https://t.co/fEmg2vcMzt
Those attacking Glazer are making his point for him. He wants to apply the lessons of the Holocaust to the horrors that “confront us in the present,” while his detractors want nothing more than to avert our attention from the Israeli government’s genocide of Palestinians. https://t.co/ofu2T2C2Jk
Jonathan Glazer Open Letter Gets More Than 500 Additional Signatures Overnight (Exclusive) https://t.co/ZqRYKEcnGy
🔴 Our chief film critic, who was quoted in Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars speech, on why The Zone of Interest is a one-of-a-kind Holocaust drama https://t.co/yeROmOHFJP