Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel may be crossing the picket lines, but the Writers Guild of America is getting support from a surprising quarter: the Jewish Defense League, the fringe group founded by assassinated firebrand rabbi Meir Kahane.
It all started when the JDL went after one of America’s biggest movie stars.
In a recent interview with a Scottish newspaper, screen idol Will Smith remarked in passing that “Even Hitler didn’t wake up going, ‘Let me do the most evil thing I can do today.’” Instead, Smith suggested, “using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was ‘good.’”
While some saw Smith’s remarks as a thought-provoking meditation on the nature of evil, the JDL wasn’t as charitable. It accused Smith of having “spit on the memory of every person murdered by the Nazis” and called for a boycott of the star and his new film, “I Am Legend.”
Internet gossip sites and mainstream news outlets quickly blew the brouhaha into a big story, with Hollywood gossip powerhouse TMZ.com labeling the JDL a “leading Jewish group.”
Smith responded to the snowballing story by issuing a statement, saying he was “incensed and infuriated to have to respond to such ludicrous misinterpretation,” and calling Hitler “a vile, heinous, vicious killer.”
That, it turns out, was enough to satisfy even the militant JDL, which announced that it would call off its boycott. But the JDL did not rest there. It seized the occasion to offer its two cents on another hot-button Hollywood issue: “In a related matter, the Jewish Defense League supports the Hollywood writers and hopes the strike is settled soon so that Smith, a very talented actor, can continue doing what he does so well.”
The Forward welcomes reader comments in order to promote thoughtful discussion on issues of importance to the Jewish community. In the interest of maintaining a civil forum, the Forward requires that all commenters be appropriately respectful toward our writers, other commenters and the subjects of the articles. Vigorous debate and reasoned critique are welcome; name-calling and personal invective are not. While we generally do not seek to edit or actively moderate comments, the Forward reserves the right to remove comments for any reason.
Copyright © 2013, Forward Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Tracing the Jewish Origins of the Holy Ghost
Forced Out by Nazis, Grandmother Returns With Family to Germany
Mother of Jewish Teen Killed on Brooklyn Bridge Speaks Out
Remembering French-Jewish Writer Viviane Forrester
Google Earth for the 16th Century Mapmaking Set
You've successfully signed up!
I am by birth a Roman Catholic , but have discovered recently that my paternal great grandparents were Jewish . My great grandfather and a close friend actually held most of their discussions in Yiddish . This discovery has been a very important revelation to me . I am very curious about my Jewish heredity and have become very interested in Jewish culture , literature and the Holocaust . I have always been offended by anti-Jewish slurs , comments , imagery (especially the widespread display of the Iron Cross) , jokes and the eternal use of Jews as a scapegoat for so many minor and major problems throughout history . It seems that in today's world , the condition of moral and communal values is as much or more of a problem than global warming . We are so concerned about saving this planet , but what kind of society will inhabit planet Earth in 30 to 50 years ? Today a lie is not a lie , unless someone discovers the lie . People can make terrible , disgraceful statements about any person , group or subject as long as they "clarify" , "redefine" , or "apologize" the next day . Will Smith said basically that Hitler awoke in the morning with a personal agenda for the day of doing "good" . Why did Hitler enter the conversation at all ??? Could it be that Will Smith had an agenda which was satisfied by his statement . He is in Scotland , which is a hotbed of skinhead /neo-nazi activity and what better to say to reach every possible viewer of his movies and to stir a little controversy than to talk about wonderful Adolf . Maybe people in all walks of life should perform a self examination , cleanse themselves of the pollution inside them , forget about themselves and think of others , understand that what Hitler did was beyond any horror ever committed by any individual . The name Hitler is better reviled or unspoken , but for the life of me , I cannot imagine him waking in the morning to do what he thought was good . You could be well assured that if someone said that a Southern Plantation foreman thought he was doing good by whipping or hanging a "bad" slave , Mr. Smith would be quick to bark about it . It would be more exact to conclude that there are those among us who are so rich or powerful , or both , who do not concern themselves with damaging acts or statements or displays . Mr. Smith may have sold you his apology , but I don't buy it . Maybe you should apologize to the JDL , because they are more in tune with the truth than you or Will Smith together .
I can give Will Smith the benifit of the doubt that he thinks Hitler was an evil genocidal,anti-semitic murderer.I am glad that Will clarified himself.It dosn't make sense that he would think anything else.
Good for Will Smith for having the sense and the guts to respond so appropriately, and good for the JDL for admitting their mistake and coming correct. Now, let's hope our brothers and sisters in the WGA win their battle so they can get back to the hard work of entertaining the rest of us... hopefully while earning a fair living out of the heap of riches their work creates for the studios. Just another example of White America profiting off the talent, skill, and hard work of Jewish labor.
The JDL has taken political correctness to a new level of absurdity. They embarrass all of us...but I hope they are around if, God forbid, we ever need their protection.
Actually Hitler probably did wake up everyday and ask himself what was the most evil, vile thing he could do that day. Definition of a psychopathic amoral sociopath. As for Mr. Smith...I can't for the life of me see why MIT would give this fool a full scholarship... I am an actor by profession, however I am full aware that some actors don't know how to do interviews. Clearly he is one actor who doesn't. And I wouldn't be so quick to forgive him...a few years back he had some nasty comments to make about Gay men.
This incident was totally blown out of proportion. Two e-mails I sent the JDL were responded with "We thank you for your feedback." Great communication skills, hey?
Conrad K. Beaudet: I guess its ok to label Scotland as a hotbed of neo/nazi skinheads, but not Israel as a torrent of racist apartheid Zionists. Hipocracy is todays greatest luxury.
To label Israel as a torrent of racist apartheid Zionists is to believe that all Israelis are insensitive to the plight of the Palestinian people . I did not state that Scotland is a land of skinheads or neo-nazis as a whole . I stated that it is a hotbed of activity , and that is true . Did I state numbers or statistics - no - But - the numbers , statistics and such are known about most of the "GOOD" deeds the Nazis performed . The condtions in Palestine are deplorable indeed , but the general condition in the Middle East seems to be everybody bombing someone or threatening to do so . Everyone has the right to believe what they want , so I do not mind if every other citizen of this planet accepts Mr. Smith's clarification of his feelings concerning Adolf (the worst mass murderer in world history ) Hitler . So as he stated in quotes ,describing Hitler as “a vile, heinous, vicious killer”, I read nothing but lip service . It must be difficult to speak in public without a script , or a director instructing a person what to do or say - when and how !!! We need more organizations like the Jewish Defense League because as I see the social landscape of this world today , They are one of a few groups who really understand that "NEVER AGAIN" means "NEVER EVER AGAIN !!!" .
anyone who talks down on the jew should be accountable. the jdl is an will always be right.that is why they are who they are. forever GOD.