Woody Allen Not Surprised by Stubborn Anti-Semitism

Woody Allen Image by Getty Images

By Thea Glassman August 29, 2016

Woody Allen told The Guardian last week that he is “not surprised” by anti-Semitism.

The 80-year-old star, who is making the press rounds for his new movie “Cafe Society,” said that while he has not faced discrimination because of his religion, some of his Jewish friends have.

“If there were no Jews in the world they would take it out on blacks,” he said. “If no blacks, they’d move over to Catholics. No Catholics? Something else. Finally, if everyone is exactly the same, the left-handed people would start killing the right-handed people. You just need an other [on whom] to vent your hostility and frustration.”

Allen went on to say that he doubts anti-Semitism will ever be a thing of the past.

“Hopefully, the wave will ebb and people will realize that’s not the problem and focus more on what the problems are,” he said. “But the world is full of intolerance and prejudice. Freud said there would always be anti-Semitism because people are a sorry lot. And they are a sorry lot.”

While the director has stated in the past that he does not believe in organized religion, he has been an out-spoken supporter of Israel.

“I support Israel and I’ve supported it since the day it was founded,” Allen said. “…I understand that Israelis have been through hard times, I don’t expect Israel to react perfectly every time and that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a wonderful, marvelous country.”

Thea Glassman is a Multimedia Fellow at the Forward. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @theakglassman.

Thea Glassman was an associate editor for the Forward. Follow her on twitter @theakglassman.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO