Many celebrities
recently have voiced their concern for innocents dying in Gaza. Unfortunately,
since the entertainment biz leans heavily to the left, they do so by turning a
blind eye to Hamas’ responsibility and unfairly bashing Israel. But there is
more support for Israel in Hollywood than one might suspect, and more and more conservative
stars are daring to express that support unabashedly.
In the wake of their
highly controversial participation in an open letter from Spain’s artistic
community criticizing Israel’s “genocide” of so-called Palestinians,
husband-and-wife actors Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz seemed shocked at the
backlash they received, including from colleagues in Tinseltown. Outspoken
Hollywood conservative Jon Voight blasted Bardem and Cruz and their ilk in his own open letter defending Israel. Bardem
and Cruz both followed up with statements attempting to clarify their position
and defending themselves against charges of anti-Semitism.
Now Dean Cain, of
television Superman fame, said recently on Fox’s Outnumbered that
in the Gaza conflict, it is Israel that best represents Superman’s credo, “truth,
justice, and the American way.” He declared that as a democracy threatened by
terrorists, Israel deserves our wholehearted support. “Clearly Hamas are
terrorists,” said Cain, “and if rockets were being fired from Mexico into my
home town of San Diego, Americans wouldn’t accept that for a minute. We’d be
taking over that part of Mexico and making it part of California.” Dean must be
thinking of the pre-Obama America; today’s anti-colonialist President is more
likely to surrender San Diego to Mexico.
Another superhero – Gal
Gadot, who will play Wonder Woman in the upcoming Batman v. Superman: Dawn
of Justice – spoke out as well via social media, posting this on Facebook:
I am sending my love and prayers to my fellow Israeli citizens.
Especially to all the boys and girls who are risking their lives protecting my
country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas, who are hiding like
cowards behind women and children…We shall overcome!!! Shabbat Shalom!
Gadot is a former
Miss Israel who served two years in the Israeli Defense Forces. In a 2011
interview, she stated that
I don’t feel like I’m an ambassador for my country, but I do talk about
Israel a lot – I enjoy telling people about where I come from and my religion.
I find that people in the U.S., especially in Hollywood, tend to have positive
opinions on Israel – both Jewish and non-Jewish people alike. But when I travel
to Europe, people often don’t know as much about Israel, and sadly a lot of
them have a negative impression of the country.
Perhaps she should be an ambassador, because she
handled that last sentence very diplomatically. That was in 2011; these days
Europe is a raging hotbed of open Jew-hatred. In any case, bravo for her.
Others in the
entertainment industry have spoken out as well, among them: the always blunt shock
jock Howard Stern, who asserted that if you’re anti-Israel, you’re anti-American; the even blunter comedienne
Joan Rivers, who advised pro-“Palestinian” pop stars Rihanna and Selena Gomez to “shut up, put on
pretty clothes, and get themselves off of drugs”; Israeli supermodel Bar
Refaeli, who Instagramed her respect for the “Brave young men who have protected our country from
terror. My heart goes out to their families. They will always be remembered and
respected #RIP”; Big Bang Theory
actress Mayim Bialik, who donated money to buy bulletproof vests for the IDF;
and actors and perennial Twitter warriors Adam Baldwin and Nick Searcy.
A particularly compelling
voice was that of Ryan Kavanaugh, CEO of entertainment studio Relativity Media
and grandson of a Holocaust survivor. In an open letter to industry paper The Hollywood
Reporter, Kavanaugh wrote a passionate defense of Israel and urged his
Hollywood cohorts to “be thankful you live in and around Hollywood,” because
If you're a woman, gay, Christian, Jewish or just non-Muslim and reading
this, be thankful you don’t live in Gaza. Not only would you not be allowed to
read this, you probably would be publicly executed. If you’ve ever voiced an
opinion that isn’t shared by Hamas publicly or merely attended a meeting where
people are discussing anything Hamas does not support, be thankful you don't
live in Gaza, as you probably would be publicly executed.
He pointed out that
“Israel is one of the most creative nations on the planet, in every dimension
of life — invention, research, technology and yes, the arts.” By contrast, Hamas
is “one of the most anti-Western, anti-creative, violent forces on the planet”:
So when we see some in Hollywood — truly gifted artists and good people —
aligning themselves with views that would be supported by Hamas, which fires
rockets frequently and indiscriminately at innocent Tel Aviv citizens, we have
to wonder what they're thinking. Are they thinking?
No. Thinking is an
impediment to pushing an anti-Israel narrative that doesn’t conform to the
facts. It also frequently contradicts feeling, which is what celebrity
progressives rely on to form their passionate political positions.
Kavanaugh pulled no
punches about Hamas being “virulently committed to killing Jews and destroying
Israel.” Paraphrasing Benjamin Netanyahu, Kavanaugh states that “If Israel were
to put down its arms tomorrow, Israel would be decimated and all its citizens
killed within 24 hours. If Hamas were to put down its arms tomorrow, there
would be immediate peace.” Then he asks his Hollywood colleagues, “How can a
Hollywood community so tolerant … tolerate this utter tyranny?”
Of course, the
answer to this question is that Hollywood progressives aren’t tolerant – progressivism is ultimately totalitarian. Instead
of standing up for Western liberal democracies like Israel (or the United
States, for that matter) that support human rights, civil rights, women’s
rights, gay rights, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the rest,
Hollywood leftists have allied themselves, either unwittingly or intentionally,
with Islamic supremacists sworn to bring those democracies to their knees.
If
more showbiz conservatives keep speaking out, perhaps their progressive
counterparts will have less of a stranglehold on Hollywood.
(This article originally appeared here on Frontpage Mag, 8/20/14)