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  • 6 weeks ago
Tony Kushner has come out in support of Jonathan Glazer's controversial Oscars acceptance speech. The celebrated playwright and screenwriter and four-time Academy Award nominee, spoke on the 'Haaretz Podcast' and was asked about his feelings on a number of topics related to the Israel-Gaza conflict in addition to Glazer's speech. Kushner was asked if he agrees with Glazer's comments, to which the playwright says, "Of course, I mean, who doesn't?"
Transcript
00:00Tony Kushner has come out in support of Jonathan Glazer's controversial Oscars acceptance speech.
00:05The celebrated playwright and screenwriter, a four-time Academy Award nominee,
00:10made a recent podcast appearance and was asked about his feelings on a number of topics related
00:14to the Israel-Gaza conflict in addition to Glazer's speech. In his acceptance speech,
00:19Glazer shared that he made the zone of interest in an effort to show, quote,
00:23where dehumanization leads at its worst and how it shapes the past and present.
00:27Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being
00:31hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people.
00:35He added, whether the victims of October 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza,
00:40all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist? The filmmaker's speech has been
00:45attacked by some Jewish figures in Hollywood and was the subject of a recent open letter
00:49signed by 1,000 people. Kushner was asked if he agrees with Glazer's comments, to which the
00:54playwright says, of course. I mean, who doesn't? Kushner explains, what Glazer's saying is so,
00:59is so simple. He's saying Jewishness, Jewish identity, Jewish history, the history of the
01:04Holocaust, the history of Jewish suffering must not be used as an excuse for a project of
01:09dehumanizing or slaughtering other people. He added, what kind of person thinks that what's
01:13going on now in Gaza is acceptable? And if you find yourself saying out loud and in public,
01:18oh, it's fine with me what they're doing because you feel that it's the only choice for you
01:22because you're a Jew is to defend everything that Israel does, you know, shame on you.
01:26Kushner concluded that he wanted Israelis to be able to live in peace and security,
01:31but added, the treatment of the Palestinians, as many Israelis have been saying for decades,
01:35actually doesn't make Israel safe. For more on Tony Kushner's comments, head to THR.com.
01:41And for the latest entertainment news and updates, keep watching The Hollywood Reporter News.
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