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David Schwimmer Urges Jewish Celebrities to Publicly Denounce Antisemitism: ‘I Wish You Would Speak Out’
David Schwimmer speaking at the Anti-Defamation League’s 2025 “Never Is Now” summit on antisemitism and hate in New York City. Photo: Screenshot
Actor David Schwimmer called on Tuesday for fellow Jewish members of the Hollywood entertainment industry to publicly speak out against antisemitism.
“My career has given me an incredible platform, a chance to talk about the issues that matter to me, and on a good day, a chance to be heard over the noise that drowns too many people out,” the former “Friends” star, 58, began by saying to the thousands of audience members at the Anti-Defamation League’s annual “Never Is Now” summit on antisemitism and hate that took place in New York City.
“I believe with that privilege comes a responsibility to use my voice in moments like this, at a time of danger, bigotry, and violence,” Schwimmer continued.
The “Madagascar” star acknowledged that “speaking out often comes at a cost,” and has resulted in him being “attacked and threatened” by strangers. He also said he has felt “abandoned by people I thought were friends and by organizations I thought were allies.”
“I get that speaking out is hard,” he added. “Plenty of people I respect, even some of my heroes in entertainment, music, and sports, have chosen to keep a low profile and sit this one out. Including some whose careers have been made by leaning into their Jewish identity and others who have won acclaim for playing Jews on screen.”
Schwimmer then noted that while some of his peers “are doing a lot behind the scenes, privately and in their own way, so many have chosen not to say anything publicly at all. And if I can say something directly to them: I really wish you would.” Schwimmer’s comments elicited applause and cheers from the audience.
He continued: “I wish you would stand up. I wish you would speak out, because your voice would be so meaningful to your fans who love you, to your community members who need you, to folks who can use just a little solidarity right now from people they respect and look up to. You don’t have to say anything political. No one’s asking you to solve the conflict in the Middle East. Just say that you stand with your Jewish friends, colleagues, and neighbors against hatred and discrimination. Say what’s happening on our college campuses and in our schools and to Jewish-owned businesses is totally unacceptable. Say anything, anything in solidarity with the Jewish community.”
The actor suggested that people begin sharing photos from their bar or bat mitzvahs. “We’ll start a trend of embarrassing haircuts and dental work,” he joked. A photo of Schwimmer at his bar mitzvah was then displayed on stage for the audience to see. He went on to again urge people who are in a position of “real or perceived leadership,” such as celebrities, “to risk a little personal comfort for the sake of the greater community.”
Last month, Schwimmer asked X owner Elon Musk to ban rapper Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) from the social media platform because of his antisemitic behavior, such as his decision to sell a shirt that features a Nazi swastika.
During his speech on Tuesday, Schwimmer also referenced the late Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who said, “The opposite of love is not hate; it’s indifference.”
“What is indifference?” asked Schwimmer. “It’s inaction. It’s silence. Sometimes in moments of danger, it could feel like our only option is to stay quiet, to avoid drawing attention to ourselves, to hide. But here’s the truth: Now is not the time to disappear. Now is the time to show up, to reach out, to connect with one another, to find strength in our community and to raise up our voices together. When we do that, we change minds, we challenge assumptions, and we remind other Jewish people that we are not alone.”
He also gave the audience at the ADL summit some words of encouragement. “I want to remind you that there are so many good people out there who have our backs,” he said. “Incredible allies that we can; we will get through this together. Our spirit is unbreakable. Our joy is irrepressible. Our story is impossible. We are kind, resilience, innovative, and generous and strong and — as you can tell from this speech — really funny.”
Shortly after his speech at the ADL “Never Is Now” summit, Israeli actress Gal Gadot took the stage to receive the organization’s international leadership award and to give the keynote address. She spoke about her pride in being Jewish and Israeli and urged others to express and reconnect with their Jewish identity.
“Isn’t it crazy that just saying that [I’m Jewish], just expressing such a simple fact about who I am, feels like a controversial statement? But sadly, this is where we’re at today,” she told the audience. “Every single Jew must lean in now, in whatever way we can. Speak up. Learn more about our history – we can always do that. Join a temple. Find your tribe, get connected. And as we support our own community, never stop reaching out to the world.”
The “Wonder Woman” star also said her grandfather, who was a Holocaust survivor, taught her about love, compassion, and tolerance, despite the horrors he suffered during World War II. She said one lesson she learned from her grandfather is that “you don’t win anything with anger and hate.”
Also at the ADL summit, sports legend Billie Jean King was given the changemaker award for her efforts to advance equality and push forward social change. She is also a founding member of the ADL’s Sports Leadership Council.
The “Never Is Now” summit was hosted this year by the activists and influencers Hen Mazzig and Montana Tucker and ran March 3-4. At the conference, Mazzig announced a new digital series titled “And They’re Jewish,” which will introduce the public to Jewish personalities around the world.
Listen to Schwimmer’s full speech in the video below.
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Iran, US Task Experts to Design Framework for a Nuclear Deal, Tehran Says
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to task experts to start drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran’s foreign minister said, after a second round of talks following President Donald Trump’s threat of military action.
At their second indirect meeting in a week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi negotiated for almost four hours in Rome with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, through an Omani official who shuttled messages between them.
Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, says it is willing to discuss limited curbs to its atomic work in return for lifting international sanctions.
Speaking on state TV after the talks, Araqchi described them as useful and conducted in a constructive atmosphere.
“We were able to make some progress on a number of principles and goals, and ultimately reached a better understanding,” he said.
“It was agreed that negotiations will continue and move into the next phase, in which expert-level meetings will begin on Wednesday in Oman. The experts will have the opportunity to start designing a framework for an agreement.”
The top negotiators would meet again in Oman next Saturday to “review the experts’ work and assess how closely it aligns with the principles of a potential agreement,” he added.
Echoing cautious comments last week from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he added: “We cannot say for certain that we are optimistic. We are acting very cautiously. There is no reason either to be overly pessimistic.”
There was no immediate comment from the US side following the talks. Trump told reporters on Friday: “I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific.”
Washington’s ally Israel, which opposed the 2015 agreement with Iran that Trump abandoned in 2018, has not ruled out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
Since 2019, Iran has breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal’s limits on its uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy program.
A senior Iranian official, who described Iran’s negotiating position on condition of anonymity on Friday, listed its red lines as never agreeing to dismantle its uranium enriching centrifuges, halt enrichment altogether or reduce its enriched uranium stockpile below levels agreed in the 2015 deal.
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Hamas Says Fate of US-Israeli Hostage Unknown After Guard Killed in Israel Strike
Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of Edan Alexander, 19, an Israeli army volunteer kidnapped by Hamas, attends a special Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony with families of other hostages, in Herzliya, Israel October 27, 2023 REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki
Hamas said on Saturday the fate of an Israeli dual national soldier believed to be the last US citizen held alive in Gaza was unknown, after the body of one of the guards who had been holding him was found killed by an Israeli strike.
A month after Israel abandoned the ceasefire with the resumption of intensive strikes across the breadth of Gaza, Israel was intensifying its attacks.
President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said in March that freeing Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old New Jersey native who was serving in the Israeli army when he was captured during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that precipitated the war, was a “top priority.” His release was at the center of talks held between Hamas leaders and US negotiator Adam Boehler last month.
Hamas had said on Tuesday that it had lost contact with the militants holding Alexander after their location was hit in an Israeli attack. On Saturday it said the body of one of the guards had been recovered.
“The fate of the prisoner and the rest of the captors remains unknown,” said Hamas armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades’ spokesperson Abu Ubaida.
“We are trying to protect all the hostages and preserve their lives … but their lives are in danger because of the criminal bombings by the enemy’s army,” Abu Ubaida said.
The Israeli military did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Hamas released 38 hostages under the ceasefire that began on January 19. Fifty-nine are still believed to be held in Gaza, fewer than half of them still alive.
Israel put Gaza under a total blockade in March and restarted its assault on March 18 after talks failed to extend the ceasefire. Hamas says it will free remaining hostages only under an agreement that permanently ends the war; Israel says it will agree only to a temporary pause.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it hit about 40 targets across the enclave over the past day. The military on Saturday announced that a 35-year-old soldier had died in combat in Gaza.
NETANYAHU STATEMENT
Late on Thursday Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’ Gaza chief, said the movement was willing to swap all remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel in return for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.
He dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing “impossible conditions.”
Israel has not responded formally to Al-Hayya’s comments, but ministers have said repeatedly that Hamas must be disarmed completely and can play no role in the future governance of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to give a statement later on Saturday.
Hamas on Saturday also released an undated and edited video of Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot. Hamas has released several videos over the course of the war of hostages begging to be released. Israeli officials have dismissed past videos as propaganda.
After the video was released, Bohbot’s family said in a statement that they were “deeply shocked and devastated,” and expressed concern for his mental and physical condition.
“How much longer will he be expected to wait and ‘stay strong’?” the family asked, urging for all of the 59 hostages who are still held in Gaza to be brought home.
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Oman’s Sultan to Meet Putin in Moscow After Iran-US Talks
FILE PHOTO: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said gives a speech after being sworn in before the royal family council in Muscat, Oman January 11, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani/File Photo
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said is set to visit Moscow on Monday, days after the start of a round of Muscat-mediated nuclear talks between the US and Iran.
The sultan will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.
Iran and the US started a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday to resolve their decades-long standoff over Tehran’s atomic aims, under the shadow of President Donald Trump’s threat to unleash military action if diplomacy fails.
Ahead of Saturday’s talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Following the meeting, Lavrov said Russia was “ready to assist, mediate and play any role that will be beneficial to Iran and the USA.”
Moscow has played a role in Iran’s nuclear negotiations in the past as a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member and signatory to an earlier deal that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
The sultan’s meetings in Moscow visit will focus on cooperation on regional and global issues, the Omani state news agency and the Kremlin said, without providing further detail.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss trade and economic ties, the Kremlin added.
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