Jon Voight Slams Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz for Gaza Letter
Image by Getty Images
By Anne Cohen August 3, 2014
Getty Images
Actor Jon Voight has written a letter condemning Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz for their letter referring to Israel’s operations in Gaza as “genocide.”
In a guest column for the Hollywood reporter called out the couple for inciting anti-Semitism, and being “oblivious to the damage they have caused.”
To be fair, both Bardem and Cruz issued statements last week apologizing for the letter, and expressing their support for Jews and their desire for peace in the Middle East.
Not good enough, says Jon Voight, who took the opportunity to call out celebrities everywhere commenting on the conflict:
You have forgotten how this war started. Did Hamas not kidnap and kill three young teenagers for the sake of killing, and celebrated after the killing? What a travesty of justice.
I am asking all my peers who signed that poison letter against Israel to examine their motives. Can you take back the fire of anti-Semitism that is raging all over the world now?
You have been able to become famous and have all your monetary gains because you are in a democratic country: America. Do you think you would have been able to accomplish this in Iran, Syria, Lebanon, et cetera? You had a great responsibility to use your celebrity for good. Instead, you have defamed the only democratic country of goodwill in the Middle East: Israel.
“You should hang your heads in shame,” Voight concluded. “You should all come forth with deep regrets for what you did, and ask forgiveness from the suffering people in Israel.”
You can read Javier Bardem’s apology right here.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
