Image by Wikipedia

In a pugnacious speech to a gala dinner given by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein urged Jews to organize and fight back against anti-Semitism.

The famously combative Weinstein, who was being presented with the organization’s Humanitarian Award at its National Tribute Dinner on Tuesday night, announced to the attendees that Jews “better stand up and kick these guys in the ass,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Weinstein, who has produced a litany of hit films such as the Holocaust action movie “Inglorious Basterds” and “Pulp Fiction,” reportedly urged “understanding of our Arab brothers and our Islamic brothers” but also warned: “We can’t allow the bad guys to win. So, as they say in “The Godfather,” ‘back to the mattresses,’ and back to the idea that we will not ever forget what happened to us.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

During the evening’s festivities, fellow Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg also reportedly announced that the Wiesenthal Center had raised another $50 million towards the construction of its long-delayed and controversial Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem. The project has been dogged by a litany of problems, including two architects who have resigned as well as long-running protests that museum is being partially built on top of the historic Muslim Mumilla cemetery.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount