The co-creator of the popular Netflix show Fauda, which depicts the conflicts and challenges of a fictional elite Israeli special forces unit, once had an idea for a storyline in which hundreds of Hamas terrorists infiltrate Israel and overwhelm a village. But, as Avi Issacharoff told a reporter, he decided not to go with it because “it sounds crazy” and wouldn’t be realistic.
If only that were true.
On October 7, what was seen as “crazy” to some of world’s most creative screenwriters came to life in 22 kibbutzim and villages across southern Israel. Hamas terrorists infiltrated by air, sea, and land with one intent: to kill as many Jews as possible. By the time they were driven out, more than 1,400 people were dead — 1,200 of them civilians, and 30 of them Americans. Nearly 200 people, including babies, the elderly and the disabled were kidnapped and taken to Gaza, a war crime and a moral travesty.
What Hamas made clear is what they have been saying since their founding charter: that they are more interested in the death of Jews than the birth of a Palestinian state. Hamas is not motivated by dreams of Palestinian self-determination; they are motivated by genocidal antisemitism.
That is why Israel, rightly and as any sovereign nation would do, is responding with a military mission to destroy Hamas. But the ideological depravity of Hamas means that we also must defeat the antisemitism that is at their core and that is motivating those who support and sympathize with Hamas the world over.
Changing hearts and minds is a difficult process that demands a whole-of-society approach, and within that, the creativity and voices of the entertainment community play an especially important role. Through their art and through their influence, actors, directors and writers have changed minds — and by extension, the world — over the past century. Now, they must do so again.
From the stirring singing of the “Marseillaise” in Casablanca to the Three Stooges and Bugs Bunny lampooning Hitler, Hollywood has played a role in shaping public opinion at key moments in history. Take Gentleman’s Agreement, the groundbreaking 1947 film starring Gregory Peck. The story follows a journalist who decides to write an exposé about antisemitism by pretending to be a Jew himself. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three, including best picture.
Films like this exposed the injustice and inhumanity of antisemitism that was accepted in American life. Additionally, in the 1930s the leaders of major studios formed the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League to oppose the rising tide of Nazism in Germany, distributing two publications and organizing a boycott of the German-American Bund.
Twenty years later, the film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? starred legendary African American actor Sidney Poitier in an interracial relationship with a white woman at a time when there were few popular depictions of interracial relationships. And the television shows Ellen and Will and Grace played critical roles in changing public perceptions and paving the way for the acceptance of gay Americans.
Now that social media allows actors and celebrities to talk directly to their fan base, the potential for them to be a force for good is even greater. That’s why it was so heartening to see so many celebrities take a stand against Hamas and in support of Israel these past few days, from Amy Schumer and Gal Gadot to Madonna and Bono, Diddy, and LeBron James, not to mention the 700 Hollywood notables who signed an open letter in support of Israel. When celebrities speak out, it sends an important message to their tens of millions of followers that this is the right side to be on. Keep in mind that these are followers who may be too young to know the full complexity of an issue or too busy to learn it. In light of how distorting social media algorithms can present the world, it’s even more important for these voices to cut through.
On the flip side, the silence from other prominent figures is deafening.
Of course, there are some celebrities who just never take public positions on anything, and it’s perfectly acceptable to separate one’s professional life from one’s personal views. However, for a large group of personalities, they have taken positions on important matters of the day, whether that’s the George Floyd murder or the #MeToo movement. For those who were outspoken on one subject, being quiet about Israel sends a message of its own. It says they perceive the loss of innocent Jews as less relevant and less important — and, worse, that they care more about the loss of followers than about the loss of innocent Jews.
It’s why a group of prominent Hollywood writers were so upset with their union, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), for not issuing a statement about the Hamas massacre when it had done so countless times before in other situations. As they so ably put it, “Every lack of response, every blind-eye turned, every coward who says nothing in the face of cruelty. We write it all. Silence as ignorance. Silence as indifference. Silence as inaction.”
Right now is not the time for silence. It is the time for leaders from across industries, including celebrities who influence millions, to unequivocally stand with Israel against the anti-Jewish terrorist group Hamas. Words matter. Silence matters. And to win the war against antisemitism, we need those who lead our culture to speak out right here, right now on this issue.
Jonathan A. Greenblatt is CEO and National Director of ADL (the Anti-Defamation League).