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Oscar-Winning British Director Apologizes for Sharing Antisemitic, ‘Ill-Judged’ Social Media Posts
Director Asif Kapadia poses during a photocall for the movie “2073”, out of competition, at the 81st Venice Film Festival, Venice, Italy, September 3, 2024. Photo: Reuters
Asif Kapadia, the Oscar-winning director of the 2015 documentary film “Amy” about the late Jewish and British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, said he was sorry for “ill-judged” anti-Israel and antisemitic posts he shared on X/Twitter.
“I’m mortified by the hurt and offense that some of my retweets have caused,” Kapadia said in a statement to BBC News. “I now understand that they will be seen by many as antisemitic, or in the case of one even justifying violence. That was not my intention.”
“Like many I feel passionate about the fate of the Palestinian & Lebanese people and the suffering they have endured over the years, but I am equally passionate about all anti-racism and condemn all forms of antisemitism,” he added. “I unequivocally apologize for these ill-judged reposts, which were posted in haste with a lack of due consideration.”
Kapadia was born in London while his family immigrated to the United Kingdom from Gujarat, India, in the 1960s. He apologized for his antisemitic social media posts after he was removed as a patron of The Grierson Trust, a charity that celebrates documentary and factual filmmaking
The Grierson Trust originally announced on Oct. 9 that Kapadia — who recently co-directed Amazon Prime Video’s “Federer: Twelve Final Days” about tennis star Roger Federer — had joined the charity as new patrons alongside Dorothy Byrne and Louis Theroux. A mere two days later, the Trust withdrew its offer to Kapadia after a series of his posts on X resurfaced.
:Since the Grierson Trust announced that Asif Kapadia had been appointed as one of our patrons, some social media posts shared by him have been drawn to our attention which are antisemitic,” the organization said. “As a result, at an 8am [sic] board meeting this morning, we took the decision to rescind his role as patron of the Trust.”
“When we made the decision to appoint Mr Kapadia, the board was not aware of these posts, some of which appear to be no longer available, and we are sorry that our due diligence was not thorough enough,” the charity noted. “The Grierson Trust is deeply committed to promoting both freedom of speech and diversity and inclusion in the documentary industry. Whilst we accept and support that everyone has a legitimate right to express their views on controversial issues, this cannot justify racist statements or behavior. As we have stressed in the past and will continue to uphold, the Trust has a zero tolerance approach to racism of all kinds.”
On his X account, which he has since deleted, Kapadia reposted a message that said, “Those who colonized the whole world are trying to convince us that resistance to colonialism is terrorism.” He also reposted an image from the Holocaust film “Schindler’s List” that shows Nazi Amon Goeth, played by actor Ralph Fiennes, aiming his rifle at prisoners in a concentration camp. The photo’s caption reads: “Do you remember this scene in ‘Schindler’s List’? The same thing is happening in real time. They are Nazis.”
Leo Pearlman, a managing partner at the production company Fulwell 73, shared on his LinkedIn profile more screenshots of antisemitic content reposted by Kapadia on X, including a political cartoon of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu eating what looks like human flesh on a blood-stained table while the bodies of dead children lay around him. Netanyahu also sits amid rubble and destruction, as an explosion goes off in the background. The caption at the top of the image says “Kosher.”
In another repost from Kapadia uploaded in late November 2023 — almost two months after the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel — the director seemed to defend the terrorists for massacring 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, 101 of whom remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza a year later. The post includes an image of a person in a green headband that has Arabic writing on it, similar to the bands worn by Hamas terrorists. “The oppression, is like slavery. So what do you do? You revolt,” reads the caption of the post. “See these eyes. They are eyes of care and compassion for the dispossessed. See these eyes and remember. In the same position you would do the same.”
Kapadia’s film “Amy,” about the Jewish songstress Winehouse who died in 2011, won an Oscar and BAFTA, and is the United Kingdom’s highest-grossing British documentary ever. His latest film “2073” is expected to screen this week at the BFI London Film Festival. His most acclaimed film credits include “Senna,” a documentary about legendary Formula One Brazilian racecar driver Ayrton Senna, and “Diego Maradona,” about the acclaimed soccer player.
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Trump, Harris Tied 47%-47% in Final CNN Poll
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump points towards Democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris, during a presidential debate hosted by ABC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, Sept. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris are tied at 47% each among likely voters, according to CNN’s last nationwide poll before the Nov. 5 election.
The poll, conducted by telephone Oct. 20-23 among 1,704 registered voters and released on Friday, had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points among likely voters and plus or minus 3.2 percentage points among the full sample of registered voters.
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2 Dead, Several Seriously Wounded After Hezbollah Rocket Hits Arab Israeli Town
The attack’s victims. Photo: i24 News
i24 News – Two Arab Israelis were killed by rocket shrapnel following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah on the Galilee town of Majd al-Krum.
The victims were named as Hassan Suad, 21, and Arjwan Manaa, 35.
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Israel and Hezbollah Trade Fire Across Lebanon Border, Blinken Calls for Urgent Resolution
A view shows damage at a site hit by an Israeli strike that killed a few journalists and wounded several others as they slept in guesthouses used by media, Lebanon’s health ministry and local media reported, in Hasbaya in southern Lebanon, October 25, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
An Israeli strike killed three journalists in southern Lebanon on Friday, Lebanese officials said, while Israel said Hezbollah killed two people in a strike in its north as Washington pressed for a ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was an urgent need to get a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, a day after he said Washington did not want to see a protracted campaign in Lebanon by its ally Israel.
Israel launched its major offensive in Lebanon a month ago, saying it was targeting the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah group to secure the return home of tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from the north due to cross-border rocket attacks.
Beirut authorities say Israel’s Lebanon offensive has killed more than 2,500 people and displaced more than 1.2 million, sparking a humanitarian crisis.
Friday’s strike killed two people in Majd al-Krum in northern Israel, according to Israeli media, and followed a statement from Hezbollah saying that it targeted the northern Israeli town of Karmiel with a large missile salvo.
“The world must stop Iran now – before it’s too late,” Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said on X.
The conflict was sparked by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel which triggered Israel’s offensive in Gaza, where Palestinian officials said Israeli strikes had killed at least 72 people since Thursday night.
The journalists killed in south Lebanon were Ghassan Najjar and Mohamed Reda of the pro-Iranian news outlet Al-Mayadeen and Wissam Qassem, who worked for Hezbollah’s Al-Manar, the outlets said in separate statements. Several others were wounded.
They had been staying at guesthouses in Hasbaya, a town not previously targeted, when it was hit around 3 a.m. (midnight GMT).
Five journalists have been killed in previous Israeli strikes while reporting on the conflict, including Reuters visual journalist Issam Abdallah on Oct. 13, 2023.
“This is a war crime,” Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary said. At least 18 journalists from six media outlets, including Sky News and Al-Jazeera were using the guesthouses.
“We heard the airplane flying very low – that’s what woke us up – and then we heard the two missiles,” Muhammad Farhat, a reporter with Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed, said.
His footage showed overturned and damaged cars, some marked “Press.” There was no immediate comment from Israel, which in general denies deliberately attacking journalists.
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said Israeli forces had fired at their troops in an observation post in southern Dhayra on Tuesday, leading them to leave the post though they remained at the base.
Israel has denied deliberately targeting the force but says Hezbollah has built strongholds in close proximity to UNIFIL sites. Its previous strikes on UNIFIL posts have drawn international condemnation.
BORDER CROSSING STRUCK
Israel has used airstrikes to pound southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs, and has also sent ground forces into southern Lebanon against Hezbollah.
The military said it struck weapon production sites and Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut as well as Hezbollah targets around the Jousieh border crossing in the northern Bekaa Valley.
It said Hezbollah used the crossing, controlled by the Syrian military, to transfer weapons into Lebanon.
Lebanon’s transport minister Ali Hamieh said the Israeli strike had knocked the Jousieh crossing out of service, leaving the northern route as the only way to Syria.
The UN refugee agency said the strikes were hindering refugees’ attempts to flee. UNHCR spokesperson Rula Amin said some 430,000 people have crossed to Syria since Israel’s campaign started. Lebanon has previously been a major destination for refugees from the Syrian civil war.
“The attacks on the border crossings are a major concern,” Amin said. “They are blocking the path to safety for people fleeing conflict.”
‘REAL URGENCY’
The Israeli campaign spiraled out of a year of cross-border hostilities with Hezbollah, which opened fire on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas, a day after it launched the Oct. 7 attack.
“We have a sense of real urgency in getting to a diplomatic resolution and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, such that there can be real security along border between Israel and Lebanon,” Blinken said in London.
He said it was important so “people at both sides of the border can have the confidence to… return to their homes”.
Hezbollah has kept fighting despite heavy blows, including the killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel said five of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, after announcing on Thursday the deaths of five others.
The Israeli military said it had uncovered an underground command center in a village close to the border with Israel and a site concealed in wooded terrain where Kornet anti-tank missiles, launchers, hand grenades and rifles were stored.
Washington has expressed hope that the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks, could provide an impetus for an end to fighting.
Officials said on Thursday that US and Israeli negotiators will gather in Doha in the coming days to try and restart talks toward a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, who met Blinken in London, said “ethnic cleansing” was taking place in northern Gaza. Israel denies such accusations, saying it is separating civilians from Hamas terrorists and moving them to safer areas.
Safadi said: “We are at the moment now where nothing justifies the continuation of the wars. Guns have to go silent.”
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