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Do Uninformed Hollywood Celebrities Realize They Are Hurting Chances of a Gaza ‘Ceasefire’?
Recently, a letter was addressed to the Hollywood actor’s union, SAG-AFTRA, signed by hundreds of Hollywood actors (along with, for some reason, many who are not actors), demanding that the union’s leadership call for “a permanent ceasefire” in the war in Gaza.
The letter also demanded that SAG-AFTRA, “condemn our industry’s McCarthyist repression of members who acknowledge Palestinian suffering.”
The letter itself is comprised largely of slanderous lies about Israel’s conduct of the war, just as one would expect from the likes of the usual suspects who signed it — Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, Susan Sarandon, Cynthia Nixon.
I could go on at length to dispute their claims, pointing out that fighting a war that the enemy started and in which many civilians tragically die — as they do in *all* major wars — is not what the word “genocide” means.
I could point out that Israel is not “waging a war of collective punishment on the civilian population of Gaza,” but rather going to extraordinary lengths to avoid civilian casualties to an extent unprecedented in modern, urban warfare.
A simple thought experiment underscores the absurdity of the above two claims: imagine if Israel actually did want to commit genocide or wage a war against the civilian population. What would that look like? Obviously, hundreds of thousands if not millions would be dead. Not tens of thousands.
And let me take this moment to say that, of course, it is terrible that there are many innocent civilians among the thousands of dead. I, and every Jew and supporter of Israel I know, feel horrible for the innocent victims of this war — a war that Hamas started and that would end instantly the moment Hamas surrenders.
I could point out that under international law, it is legal to target “safe zones, schools, and hospitals” when the enemy uses them as bases for their operations — just as Hamas is doing.
I could point out the brazen audacity of calling for the “release of all hostages — both Palestinian and Israeli” as though terrorists and armed enemy combatants taken prisoner are “hostages,” and in any way comparable to women and children dragged from their beds.
I could point out the inanity of the oxymoron “permanent ceasefire,” when a “ceasefire” by definition is temporary, just like the ceasefire that was in place on October 7, 2023, before Hamas violated it by invading Israel — and just like every other ceasefire that has been agreed to and violated by Hamas over the past decades.
What might be “permanent” is a peace treaty, such as those negotiated between Israel and many of its other neighbors. But Hamas has made it clear they will never agree to such a peace, and thus any cessation of hostilities could only be “permanent” if Hamas is completely defeated, which is, of course, Israel’s goal.
I could make all of these points, and many others, in response to the false, naïve, and incendiary anti-Israel statements made in the letter to SAG-AFTRA — but similar arguments have been put forth many times in many formats and forums, and there is no need to rehash them at greater length here.
Instead I want to ask this question: why do these actors think that they can proffer a laundry list of slanderous claims against Israel, which are, ultimately, antisemitic in fact if not in intent, without deserving to face any consequences?
I am not aware of any actors facing “McCarthyist repression” just for “acknowledging Palestinian suffering,” as the letter claims.
What I am aware of are instances in which some of those who have signed the letter — such as Susan Sarandon and Melissa Barrera — lost work over blatantly antisemitic statements.
Should they be protected from those consequences? Would an actor who made racist statements targeting any minority group (aside from Jews) and lost work as a result (see: Roseanne Barr) have the temerity to “condemn” the “McCarthyist repression?”
Now, I realize that many of those who signed the letter are probably too stupid to understand the implications of what they have endorsed. If this sounds overly harsh, I’m sorry, but I don’t know how else to say it.
I have little doubt that many of the signatories are well meaning, caring people, who see suffering and think they are doing the right and noble thing in calling for it to end. But does that absolve them from all responsibility in signing something they don’t understand?
And what of those who do understand? Who are knowingly giving credence to the lies and anti-Israel propaganda that not only damages Israel in the eyes of the public but also fuels anti-Jewish hatred in the US? What of their responsibility?
It’s bad enough that the letter is an unbalanced, anti-Israel diatribe that doesn’t once lay any blame for anything at the feet of Hamas — and, shockingly, doesn’t even once use the word “Hamas” in its discussion of a conflict it portrays as being fought between Israel and Gazan civilians.
What’s worse is that, by entirely taking the unnamed Hamas’ side, the letter makes its stated goal of ending the conflict less likely to occur.
Hamas can find great encouragement in the fact that its objective of turning Israel into a pariah is working — it’s working on college campuses, on the streets of European cities, among segments of the Democratic Party, and among these Hollywood actors.
Why would Hamas agree to a ceasefire when not doing so seems to be paying such dividends?
Do the signers of the letter know that their actions make a ceasefire *less* likely? Are they too unaware of the geopolitical situation or the strategies and motives of Hamas to understand? Or are they too blinded by their antipathy toward Israel and Jews to care?
Whether for better or worse, celebrities have a great deal of power in our society. But with great power comes great responsibility. Or does it?
Michael Kaplan is a TV writer-producer, playwright, and children’s book author. For his TV work, he has been nominated for four Emmy Awards, winning one.
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From Iran Nukes to Europe-Israel Diplomacy, New York Times Can’t or Won’t Get the Context Right
The New York Times building in New York City. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The New York Times came in with a big editorial denouncing antisemitism and infuriating the Jew-hating readers who populate its comment section — but its news pages keep spreading falsehoods about Israel.
Three recent examples show how Times reporters lack historical or even recent context.
A Times news article about Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway imposing sanctions on Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich includes this passage:
“Britain has already tried once to prevent us from settling the cradle of our homeland, and we will not allow it to do it again,” Mr. Smotrich posted on social media in Hebrew, referring to Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
The intended reference there actually seems to be not “Jewish settlements in the West Bank” but rather the infamous British “White Paper” of 1939 that sharply limited Jewish immigration into the British controlled mandate of Palestine. The White Paper capped Jewish migration at 75,000 over five years, during a moment when millions of Jews were desperately seeking to escape the Nazi onslaught. “After the period of five years, no further Jewish immigration will be permitted unless the Arabs of Palestine are prepared to acquiesce in it,” the White Paper said. It’s astonishing that this has somehow vanished from the Times‘ historical memory.
Another Times news article claimed, “The toll and imposition of a blockade, now partially lifted, in the territory [Gaza] have provoked growing international outrage, including among European states like France and Britain little inclined to sharp criticism of Israel in the past.” The idea that the outrage is “provoked” by Israeli actions rather than motivated by the growing and restive Muslim populations in France and Britain is questionable. There’s no outrage against Egypt, which also borders Gaza. And it’s inaccurate to say that France and Britain have been “little inclined to sharp criticism of Israel in the past.”
For example, in 2019 a French diplomatic statement said, “France condemns the decisions taken by the Israeli authorities on 5 and 6 August allowing for the construction of 2,304 housing units on the West Bank. These decisions come amid the troubling acceleration of settlement building on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. As stated in UN Security Council Resolution 2334, these settlements are contrary to international law. This policy further heightens tensions on the ground and gravely undermines the conditions for a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians based on a two-state solution.”
A brief for the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs reported, “For many years, France has been the driving force behind anti-Israel political attitudes in the EU. In addition, former Israeli UN ambassador Yehuda Blum noted, ‘The French at the UN were the leaders of every anti-Israel initiative originating in Europe throughout. Theirs was a totally unbalanced position. We counted them in the Arab camp.’”
In 2002, British and French foreign ministers met with Yasser Arafat at a time when George W. Bush was trying to freeze Arafat out.
A third example of Times cluelessness comes from the paper’s “live” news coverage of the war between Israel and Iran. “In his first television interview since Israel struck Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli intelligence found that Iran had enough uranium to build nine nuclear bombs but did not provide any evidence for that claim,” the Times said. The “did not provide evidence” phrase is a tic that the Times uses against people it doesn’t like in order to signal to readers that what those people say cannot be trusted.
The Times itself reported in December 2024, “Iran already has enough of a stockpile to make the fuel for four weapons in a matter of weeks or days.” Another recent Times article commented on Netanyahu’s claim of nine weapons by noting, “Other experts put the figure slightly higher, at 10, but the actual number would depend on how efficiently the Iranians prove to be at producing a warhead or a bomb.”
How much more evidence does the Times want? On June 9, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency spoke publicly about Iran, saying, “The agency cannot ignore the stockpiling of over 400 kg of highly enriched uranium.” An analysis put out the same day by the Institute for Science and International Security of the May 31, 2025, IAEA quarterly monitoring report says, “Iran can convert its current stock of 60 percent enriched uranium into 233 kg of WGU in three weeks at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), enough for 9 nuclear weapons, taken as 25 kg of weapon-grade uranium (WGU) per weapon … Iran could produce its first quantity of 25 kg of WGU in Fordow in as little as two to three days … Breaking out in both Fordow and the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP), the two facilities together could produce enough WGU for 11 nuclear weapons in the first month, enough for 15 nuclear weapons by the end of the second month, 19 by the end of the third month, 21 by the end of the fourth month, and 22 by the end of the fifth month.”
I guess the Times could litigate that Netanyahu is eliding the conversion from highly enriched to weapon-grade, but he’s giving a wartime television interview, not a technical nuclear briefing.
So, when the Times complains that Netanyahu “did not provide any evidence,” the newspaper is just displaying its own bias and lack of knowledge about the context, as surely as it did in the other examples. One thing for which there is surely a lot of evidence: the Times‘s own weak grasp of basic details, history, and context for the events unfolding in the Middle East.
Ira Stoll was managing editor of The Forward and North American editor of The Jerusalem Post. He writes frequently at TheEditors.com. His media critique, a regular Algemeiner feature, can be found here.
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Antisemitic Incidents in Argentina Surge by 15% Amid Global Rise, New Report Finds
Argentina’s President Javier Milei attends a commemoration event ahead of the anniversary of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 17, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Martin Cassarini
Argentina experienced a 15 percent increase in reported antisemitic incidents last year, as the Hamas-led massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing war in the Middle East sparked a rise in hate crimes, according to a report issued by the country’s Jewish umbrella organization on Thursday.
The Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA) presented the 2024 Annual Report on Antisemitism in Argentina, which recorded 687 anti-Jewish hate crimes — up from 598 antisemitic incidents in 2023 — marking a notable surge in antisemitic activity in the country.
According to the report, X and Facebook were the main platforms where hate messages were spread. However, antisemitic incidents also increased in public spaces, schools, and even neighborhoods.
“Hate may change its form, but it never truly disappears,” DAIA said in a post on X. “Behind every statistic is a story — a person, a community, a wound.”
El odio se transforma, pero no desaparece.
El Informe Anual sobre Antisemitismo en la Argentina 2024 presentado hoy por la DAIA registró 687 denuncias recibidas, un aumento del 15 por respecto al año anterior.
El ataque del 7 de octubre y la guerra en Medio Oriente reactivaron… pic.twitter.com/euEodYmswF— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) June 19, 2025
The study indicates that 66 percent of the antisemitic incidents originated in the digital realm, with a significant rise in Nazi symbols and conspiracy theories.
There was also a 34 percent increase in reported physical assaults, with such hate crimes rising in schools and neighborhoods.
“At DAIA, we are committed every day to raising awareness, reporting, and eliminating antisemitism in all its forms,” the organization said in a statement. “Because staying silent is part of the problem.”
The report explains that the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel has triggered a surge in antisemitic expressions, with 39.5 percent of the hate crimes involving discourse related to the war in Gaza, followed by 23.5 percent involving Nazi symbolism.
Argentina has been hardly alone in reporting a surge in anti-Jewish crimes. According to the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel, there was a staggering 340 percent increase in total antisemitic incidents worldwide in 2024 compared to 2022.
For example, the United States reported a 288 percent increase in antisemitic atrocities last year compared to 2022, while Canada experienced a 562 percent surge over the same period.
In Europe, France saw a surge of over 350 percent in antisemitic incidents, while the United Kingdom recorded a 450 percent spike, with nearly 2,000 acts of antisemitism in just the first half of 2024.
In South Africa, antisemitic incidents rose by 185 percent, while Australia experienced a sharp increase of 387 percent.
At the global level, the report found that 41 percent of incidents involved antisemitic propaganda, 15.5 percent included acts of violence, and around 25 percent were related to Israel.
The research also revealed that online antisemitism surged, rising by more than 300 percent.
With Argentine President Javier Milei among the most vocal supporters of Israel, Argentina has become a key player in global efforts to combat antisemitism and terrorism, while defending democracy and Israel’s right to exist.
Last year, for example, more than 30 countries led by the United States adopted “global guidelines for countering antisemitism” during a gathering of special envoys and other representatives from around the globe in Argentina.
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Massive Times Square Billboard Denounces ‘Free Palestine’ Movement for Contributing to Rise in Antisemitism
A digital billboard in Times Square organized by the Coalition for Jewish Values that condemns the “Free Palestine” movement. Photo: Provided
A Jewish organization representing more than 2,500 Orthodox rabbis launched a billboard campaign in Times Square on Wednesday that condemns the “Free Palestine” movement for fueling the deadly rise of antisemitism in the US after the attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, The Algemeiner has learned.
The 10-second digital advertisement, organized by the Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), reads: “Free Palestine = Support for Hamas = Calling for Genocide of Jews. America, Wake Up. It Never Ends With the Jews!” The ad will appear multiple times per hour and be live in Times Square for 30 days, according to CJV.
“When students on college campuses chant ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ America itself is at risk,” said CJV Executive Vice President Rabbi Yaakov Menken in a released statement. “We call upon all Americans to join us in speaking clearly about who and what the bloodthirsty ‘Free Palestine’ movement stands for, and the need to stamp it out.” CJV is the largest rabbinic public policy organization in America.
The United States has recorded more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents since the Hamas-led massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to data presented to the Israeli parliament’s Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Commission in January.
Since then, a terrorist set fire to the official residence of Jewish Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro because of the arsonist’s support for “Palestine” and the Palestinian people; two Israeli Embassy workers were murdered in Washington, DC, by a gunman who shouted “Free Palestine” before being arrested; and a man who threw Molotov cocktails at people rallying in Boulder, Colorado, for the Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip yelled “Free Palestine” during the terror attack.
At a congressional vigil last week for the two Israeli embassy employees murdered in May, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said “the ‘Free Palestine’ call has become a violent movement that collaborates with Hamas.”
“Too many Jewish organizations are afraid to say what Speaker Johnson finds obvious: the cry of ‘Free Palestine’ is the call of domestic terrorists,” said Menken. “Israel is the only free country in the Middle East. The one thing Israel is not free of is Jews, and that is what ‘Free Palestine’ aims to correct, in the model of Hitler’s Final Solution. They have no interest in building a nation but destroying one. They do not want to elevate Palestinian Arabs, but to eradicate Jews. This is classic antisemitism, and history proves that there is no greater danger to the continuity of a civilization.”
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