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Accused of Antisemitism, Mark Ruffalo Wins Strong Hollywood Support
🇹🇷 Turkey /Culture & Society

Accused of Antisemitism, Mark Ruffalo Wins Strong Hollywood Support

From Cumhuriyet · () Turkish

Translated from Turkish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • More than 170 Jewish filmmakers and actors signed an open letter supporting Mark Ruffalo after Paramount accused him of using antisemitic rhetoric.
  • Ruffalo had criticized Paramount executives and financiers over technology supplied to the Israeli military and rejected equating criticism of Israel’s government with hostility toward Jews.
  • The Hollywood group The Brigade, which represents about 1,000 members, condemned Ruffalo and said his language resembled historical antisemitic hate speech.

More than 170 Jewish filmmakers and actors have rallied behind Mark Ruffalo after Paramount accused the Marvel star of antisemitic rhetoric. The dispute began when Ruffalo opposed Paramount’s offer to acquire Warner Bros. and criticized the studio’s board and financiers over alleged technology support for the Israeli military.

Ruffalo shared remarks by Safra Catz, a Paramount board member and Oracle vice president, about technology provided to Israel’s armed forces. He called Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison a “classic oligarch” and accused the Ellison family of being complicit in actions against the Palestinian people.

Israel’s government, military contracts and the executives providing this technology are not the Jewish people.

— Mark RuffaloRuffalo rejected Paramount’s accusation and distinguished criticism of Israeli state policy from hostility toward Jews.

Paramount responded with a written statement accusing Ruffalo of using antisemitic language under the cover of a commercial dispute. Ruffalo rejected the accusation, saying that criticism of the Israeli government, military contracts and executives providing the technology could not be treated as criticism of Jewish people.

The accusations are absurd.

— Hannah EinbinderThe actor dismissed the claim that Ruffalo’s criticism stemmed from the Ellison family’s ethnic or religious identity.

The open letter defending him included prominent Jewish figures such as Joel Coen, Todd Haynes, Hannah Einbinder, Ilana Glazer, Tony Kushner, Jane Schoenbrun and Wallace Shawn. Einbinder called “the accusations absurd,” rejecting the claim that Ruffalo’s criticism targeted the Ellison family because of its ethnic or religious identity.

The sector remains divided. The Brigade, a Hollywood group representing about 1,000 members, issued its own statement condemning Ruffalo and arguing that his remarks resembled language historically used against Jews.

Classic oligarch.

— Mark RuffaloRuffalo used the phrase to describe Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison in his criticism of the company’s role.
About this summary

Originally published by Cumhuriyet in Turkish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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