Israeli producer and actress Noa Tishby, recognized as a prominent pro-Israel voice in the U.S. media, took to social media to criticize a gesture of support for the Palestinians made by Hollywood stars at the Academy Awards' Oscar ceremony on Sunday night. Tishby criticized these stars, many who were nominated for and also won Oscar statuettes, for promoting what she called a one-sided agenda regarding the war against the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza.
"Tonight’s Oscars was a subtle and overt display of Jew-hatred," Tishby asserted.
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Several Hollywood celebrities, including Billie Eilish, her brother Finneas, Mark Ruffalo, Ava DuVernay, Ramy Youssef, and Quannah Chasinghorse, wore red pins distributed by the group Artists4Ceasefire. Youssef explained that the pin represents "justice for the Palestinian people," and added: "This is a universal message of 'just stop killing children.'"
Tishby noted the absence of yellow pins, representing the hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. "And that’s the point: if you’re calling for a ceasefire without calling for the release of the hostages, you are promoting Hamas’s agenda by questioning Israel's right to self-defense," Tishby said in an X post.
Tishby further commented on Hamas's brutal attack on Israel on the morning of October 7.
"It was Hamas who barbarically attacked Israel, breaking the cease-fire on October 7th. Since then, Hamas has consistently rejected numerous cease-fire proposals. Hamas is not interested in a cease-fire, it is interested in murdering Jews and sacrificing Palestinians. If these artists cared so much about a cease-fire, they’d be applying pressure on Hamas rather than attacking Israel," she said.
She concluded her post by suggesting that the actions of these celebrities could be interpreted as "at its mildest, this is subconscious antisemitism; at its worst, deliberate attacks against Jews."
"Either way, it’s appalling and needs to be addressed. We cannot allow Hollywood celebrities to be manipulated into furthering Hamas’s hateful agenda around the world."
The ongoing conflict had a noticeable impact on those attending the Academy Awards in Los Angeles. As the event was about to start, there were reports of significant traffic congestion due to pro-Palestinian protesters. They blocked Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, displaying signs reading "No Awards for Genocide" and driving buses adorned with Palestinian flags. Although the police dispersed the protesters, the resulting traffic jams forced some attendees to leave their limousines and walk to the venue to avoid being late for the ceremony. According to Variety, the event organizers dispatched golf carts to collect those delayed by the traffic from their cars.
The political undertones extended into the Dolby Theater, the venue of the Oscar ceremony, during the acceptance speech of Jewish-British director Jonathan Glazer. He won the award for Best International Film for "The Zone of Interest," a film that depicts the daily life of the Hess family, whose patriarch, Rudolf, was the commandant of Auschwitz. Glazer said in his acceptance speech: "Our film shows where dehumanization leads, at its worst," writer-director Jonathan Glazer said. "Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel, or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims, this humanization, how do we resist?"