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‘Enough With the Lies’: Over 400 Hollywood Figures Condemn Anti-Israel Misinformation, Incitement After DC Shooting
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul lays flowers in honor of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, US, May 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
More than 400 members of the entertainment industry have signed an open letter denouncing “extremist rhetoric” and the spread of misinformation about Israel in response to last week’s murder of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC.
“We, the undersigned, are saying enough! Enough with the lies, and enough with the extremism,” states the open letter released by the non-profit organization Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) on Thursday.
The document was also published in response to several open letters from members of the entertainment and literature industries that accused Israel of “genocide” while criticizing Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip during its ongoing war against Hamas terrorists responsible for the deadly rampage across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Thursday’s open letter debunks several false claims about Israel related to the Gaza war and condemns anti-Israel activists for promoting “the antisemitic blood libel that the Jewish state – and all the Jews that support Israel – are bloodthirsty, intentionally targeting civilians, and committing ‘genocide.’”
“We reject the anti-Israel movement co-opting every social justice cause — outrageously claiming that to stand with the LGBTQIA+ community, or with anti-racist, anti-colonialist, anti-Islamophobic and anti-antisemitic movements, is to stand against Israel,” the letter says. “This is all done to paint Israel — and Jews around the world — as embodying the world’s ultimate evils. This is antisemitism.”
CCFP’s open letter also singles out celebrities for unknowingly assisting in the spread of anti-Israel propaganda and false information. “Some well-meaning celebrities and public figures have been manipulated by this constant stream of misinformation, which they have also helped to amplify,” the letter states. “On May 21, 2025, we saw that these lies can have deadly consequences … these claims are amplified by the media, in addition to celebrities who share this disinformation to their millions of followers on social media.”
Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, were gunned down and killed on the evening of May 21 while leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. The victims were colleagues at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, and were soon-t0-be engaged. The alleged lone gunman, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez, yelled “Free Palestine” while being arrested by police after the shooting, according to video of the incident. An FBI affidavit supporting Rodriguez’s federal criminal charges stated that he told law enforcement he “did it for Gaza.”
Rodriguez has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, among other charges, and several voices – including 15 Israeli lawmakers and Israel’s Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar – have called on authorities to pursue the death penalty against the alleged shooter.
Studio executives, actors, actresses, television personalities, musicians, and songwriters are among those who signed CCFP’s open letter on Thursday. The signatories include Uzo Aduba, Jerry O’Connell, Patricia Heaton, Rebecca De Mornay, Debra Messing, Julianna Margulies, Mayim Bialik, Sharon Osbourne, Mattel Chairman and CEO Ynon Kreiz, Matisyahu, songwriter Diane Warren, and Disturbed lead singer David Draiman.
CCFP said the open letter is the first of its kind because it is calling for the entertainment community to “unequivocally condemn the anti-Israel movement’s role in scapegoating and endangering Jews around the globe.”
“We call on all our colleagues to reject this extremist rhetoric and the spread of misinformation so that we can all work toward a future in which all Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace and dignity,” the letter states in conclusion.
Saban Capital Group Chairman and CEO Haim Saban, who also signed the open letter, said it is “a plea for truth, for accountability, and for responsibility — especially from those with powerful platforms.”
“When public figures accuse Israel of genocide, call for intifada, or claim Jews are colonizers, they may not understand the history they’re invoking — but the people who act on those words often do,” he noted.
“History repeats itself: peddling lies about Jews has deadly consequences,” Bialik said in a released statement. “For the past two years, public figures and influencers with millions of followers have consistently promoted fallacious and menacing anti-Israel propaganda masquerading as advocacy. This stream of lies against the Jewish people and the Jewish ancestral homeland has now – unsurprisingly to anyone watching closely – turned deadly in the United States. This moment requires public figures to use their platforms responsibly. We implore these individuals to lend their voices to those of moral clarity, peace and tolerance, instead of division, distortion and delegitimization.”
The Capital Jewish Museum was closed in the days after the deadly shooting but reopened on Thursday with a ceremony in memory of Lischinsky and Milgrim. The reopening ceremony was attended by Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, interfaith leaders, and local officials, among others.
“It is not up to the Jewish community to say ‘support us.’ It is up to all of us to denounce antisemitism in all forms,” Bowser said while speaking at the event. “We know one of the goals in the museum is to inspire visitors to think about our own place in history, and each day, we all have a choice about how we show up … So, one of my messages to our community here in DC is for people of all faiths to keep showing up for the Jewish community and to keep showing up for the Capital Jewish Museum.”
The post ‘Enough With the Lies’: Over 400 Hollywood Figures Condemn Anti-Israel Misinformation, Incitement After DC Shooting first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Links $1.9 Billion in State Disaster Funds to Israel Boycott Stance
A resident enters a FEMA’s improvised station to attend claims by local residents affected by floods following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Marion, North Carolina, US, Oct. 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US states and cities that boycott Israeli companies will be denied federal aid for natural disaster preparedness, the Trump administration has announced, tying routine federal funding to its political stance.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency stated in grant notices posted on Friday that states must follow its “terms and conditions.” Those conditions require they certify they will not sever “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies” to qualify for funding.
The requirement applies to at least $1.9 billion that states rely on to cover search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries, and backup power systems among other expenses, according to 11 agency grant notices reviewed by Reuters.
The requirement is the Trump administration’s latest effort to use federal funding to promote its views on Israel.
The Department of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees FEMA, in April said that boycotting Israel is prohibited for states and cities receiving its grant funds.
FEMA separately said in July that US states will be required to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the government arrest migrants, an administration priority.
The Israel requirement takes aim at BDS, the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement designed to isolate the world’s lone Jewish state on the international stage as a step toward its eventual elimination.
“DHS will enforce all antidiscrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism,” a spokesperson for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement.
The requirement is largely symbolic. At least 34 states already have anti-BDS laws or policies, according to a University of Pennsylvania law journal. The BDS movement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The American Jewish Committee supports the Trump administration’s policy, said Holly Huffnagle, the group’s director of antisemitism policy. The AJC is an advocacy group that supports Israel.
Under one of the grant notices posted on Friday, FEMA will require major cities to agree to the Israel policy to receive a cut of $553.5 million set aside to prevent terrorism in dense areas.
New York is due to receive $92.2 million from the program, the most of all the recipients. Allocations are based on the agency’s analysis of “relative risk of terrorism,” according to the notice.
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Iran Sets Up New Defense Council in Wake of War With Israel
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Photo: Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran‘s top security body approved the establishment of a National Defenxe Council on Sunday, according to state media, following a short air war with Israel in June that was Iran‘s most acute military challenge since the 1980s war with Iraq.
“The new defense body will review defense plans and enhance the capabilities of Iran‘s armed forces in a centralized manner,” the Supreme National Security Council‘s Secretariat was quoted as saying by state media.
The defense council will be chaired by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and consists of the heads of the three government branches, senior armed forces commanders, and relevant ministries.
On Sunday, the commander-in-chief of Iran‘s military, Amir Hatami, warned that threats from Israel persist and should not be underestimated.
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Israel to Decide Next Steps in Gaza After Ceasefire Talks Collapse
Smoke rises from Gaza as the sun sets, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet this week to decide on Israel‘s next steps in Gaza following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas, with one senior Israeli source suggesting more force could be an option.
Last Saturday, during a visit to the country, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had said he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza.
But Israeli officials have also floated ideas including expanding the military offensive in Gaza and annexing parts of the shattered enclave.
The failed ceasefire talks in Doha had aimed to clinch agreements on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce, during which aid would be flown into Gaza and half of the hostages Hamas is holding would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.
After Netanyahu met Witkoff last Thursday, a senior Israeli official said that “an understanding was emerging between Washington and Israel,” of a need to shift from a truce to a comprehensive deal that would “release all the hostages, disarm Hamas, and demilitarize the Gaza Strip,” – Israel‘s key conditions for ending the war.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday that the envoy’s visit was seen in Israel as “very significant.”
But later on Sunday, the Israeli official signaled that pursuit of a deal would be pointless, threatening more force: “An understanding is emerging that Hamas is not interested in a deal and therefore the prime minister is pushing to release the hostages while pressing for military defeat.”
“STRATEGIC CLARITY”
What a “military defeat” might mean, however, is up for debate within the Israeli leadership. Some Israeli officials have suggested that Israel might declare it was annexing parts of Gaza as a means to pressure the Palestinian terrorist group, which has ruled the enclave for nearly two decades.
Others, like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir want to see Israel impose military rule in Gaza before annexing it and re-establishing the Jewish settlements Israel evicted 20 years ago.
The Israeli military, which has pushed back at such ideas throughout the war, was expected on Tuesday to present alternatives that include extending into areas of Gaza where it has not yet operated, according to two defense officials.
While some in the political leadership are pushing for expanding the offensive, the military is concerned that doing so will endanger the 20 hostages who are still alive, the officials said.
Israeli Army Radio reported on Monday that military chief Eyal Zamir has become increasingly frustrated with what he describes as a lack of strategic clarity by the political leadership, concerned about being dragged into a war of attrition with Hamas terrorists.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declined to comment on the report but said that the military has plans in store.
“We have different ways to fight the terror organization, and that’s what the army does,” Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said.
On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which included a call on Hamas to hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
Hamas has repeatedly said it won’t lay down arms. But it has told mediators it was willing to quit governance in Gaza for a non-partisan ruling body, according to three Hamas officials.
It insists that the post-war Gaza arrangement must be agreed upon among the Palestinians themselves and not dictated by foreign powers.
Israel‘s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar suggested on Monday that the gaps were still too wide to bridge.
“We would like to have all our hostages back. We would like to see the end of this war. We always prefer to get there by diplomatic means, if possible. But of course, the big question is, what will be the conditions for the end of the war?” he told journalists in Jerusalem.