CCFPeace - Creative Community for Peace

Entertainment Industry Leaders Stand United Against Cultural Boycott of Israel and In Support of Sydney Festival

120+ celebrities and entertainment industry professionals to sign open letter in support of artistic freedom and against boycott of Sydney Festival.

More than 120 leaders from the entertainment industry have signed an open letter released by the non-profit entertainment industry organisation Creative Community For Peace in support of the Sydney Festival and participating artists.

After suffering through two years of border closures, extended COVID lockdowns, the most catastrophic bushfires on record and devastating floods, this iconic Festival, celebrating its 45th year, is supposed to celebrate Sydney’s diverse history and rich culture, reuniting Sydney as a community.

The open letter comes in response to attempts by anti-Israel activists to boycott the Sydney Festival because the Israeli Embassy in Australia is sponsoring the performance of a world-renowned Israeli dance ensemble.

The entertainment leaders stand united in rejecting the cultural boycott of Israel as yet another roadblock to peace and its subversion of art for nefarious political purposes.

“While art can reflect politics, and artists can choose to reflect their politics in their own art, art should never become subservient to politics and artists and cultural events should never be forced to be politicised,” the letter reads.

Signatories to the open letter include: Gene Simmons: Artist, KISS; Aaron Bay-Schuck: CEO/Co-Chairman Warner Record; Diane Warren: Songwriter/Producer; Craig Emanuel: Partner, Paul Hastings LLC; Emile Sherman: Co-Founder, See-Saw Films; Rick Rosen: Co-Founder, Endeavor; Ben Silverman: Chairman & Co-CEO, Propagate Content; Orly Marley: President, Tuff Gong Worldwide; Jacqueline Saturn: President, Virgin Music; Stephan Elliot: Director; Emmanuelle Chriqui: Actress; Dan Rosen: Music Executive; Michael Rotenberg: Partner, 3 Arts Entertainment; David Zedeck: Global Head of Music at UTA; Gary Gersh: President, Global Touring, A.E.G.; David Draiman: Artist, Frontman of Disturbed; Haim Saban: Chairman & CEO, Saban Capital Group; and Sherry Lansing: Former CEO of Paramount Pictures. A full list of all the signatories can be seen below.

The letter’s signatories believe strongly in the power of art to bring people together, transcend boundaries, broaden awareness, and affect positive societal change. They also call on their friends and colleagues to join in expressing support for the artists of the Sydney Festival and against this counterproductive boycott call.

“We, the undersigned, believe the cultural boycott movement of the Sydney Festival is an affront to both Palestinians and Israelis who are working to advance peace through compromise, exchange, and mutual recognition. While we all may have differing opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the best path to peace, we all agree that a cultural boycott is not the answer.” the letter continues.

“The organisers of the Sydney Festival boycott intentionally misrepresent the truth about Israel and make provocative statements, to try and bully artists into backing out of the festival. Their messages deceptively involve an element of dishonesty and deny the truth of Jewish indigeneity to the land of Israel. Their actions only further hostility and dampen hope for peace, which all of us so urgently desire,” stated Ari Ingel, Director of Creative Community for Peace.

Mr. Ingel added that “the Sydney Festival is a beautiful event celebrating Sydney’s diverse and rich culture – bringing the entire community together. Unfortunately, it’s now being used for political purposes to divide, rather than unite. The boycott movement is also counterproductive and instead of amplifying the voices of coexistence trying to effect real change on the ground, those who support the calls for a boycott are only creating more hostility, division, and mistrust.”

Creative Community for Peace aims to promote the arts and culture as a means to peace and to counter and educate the entertainment industry about rising antisemitism. To learn more about their work, visit www.creativecommunityforpeace.com.

OPEN LETTER

We, the undersigned, believe that cultural events are vitally important vehicles to bring people together of different backgrounds under a shared love of the arts.

The annual Sydney Festival embodies this unifying power. Every year, thousands of Australians make common cause in a massive display of cultural exchange and celebration of our diverse cultures and histories.

Unfortunately, this year, the spirit of the Festival is under attack by those calling for a boycott because the Israeli Embassy is sponsoring a world renowned Israeli dance ensemble. This call for a boycott turns the festival from an opportunity for unity into a weapon of division.

We also reject the boycott activist claims that Jews are not indigenous to the land of Israel. The Jewish people have over a 3,000 year connection to the land of Israel, and many Jewish families have lived in the land for hundreds of generations. This fact does not deny any other groups claims of indigeneity.

While art can reflect politics, and artists can choose to reflect their politics in their own art, art should never become subservient to politics and artists and cultural events should never be forced to be politicized.

We believe the cultural boycott movement is an affront to both Palestinians and Israelis who are working to advance peace through compromise, exchange, and mutual recognition.

While we all may have differing opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the best path to peace, we all agree that a cultural boycott is not the answer.

As Nick Cave stated: “The cultural boycott of Israel is cowardly and shameful. Israel is a real, vibrant, functioning democracy – yes, with Arab members of parliament – and so engaging with Israelis, who vote, may be more helpful than scaring off artists or shutting down means of engagement.”

We call on all our friends and colleagues in the entertainment community to express their support for an exciting and successful Sydney Festival 2022 and to purchase a ticket and attend the festival itself to understand the power of arts to bring people together first hand.

SIGNATORIES

Gene Simmons: Artist/ co-lead singer KISS

Aaron Bay-Schuck: CEO/Co-Chairman Warner Records

Jason Adelman: Vice President, Brand Innovators

Orly Adelson: Producer, Orly Adelson Productions

Marty Adelstein: CEO, Tomorrow Studios

Benjamin Adler: Violinist (CHUTNEY)

Michael Adler: Partner of Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler, Feldman & Clark Inc.

Nate Auerbach: Partner, Versus Creative

Eric Balfour: Actor

Eve Barlow: Music/Culture Journalist

Richard Baskind: Partner & Head of Music, Simons Muirhead & Burton

Miles Beard: Senior Vice President, A&R at Artist Partner Group, Inc.

Aton Ben-Horin: Global Vice President of A&R for Warner Music Group

Pablo Bendersky: Producer/Artist

Steven Bensusan: President, Blue Note Entertainment Group

Adam Berkowitz: Founder and President, Lenore Entertainment Group

Luc Bernard: Director, Voices of the Forgotten

Josh Binder: Partner, Rotherberg, Mohr, and Binder LLP

Neil Blair: Partner, The Blair Partnership

Evan Bogart: Songwriter & Co-Founder of Boardwalk Entertainment Group

Josh Brill: Writer, Producer

David Byrnes: Partner, Ziffren, Brittenham, LLP

Markell Casey: Music Executive

Brian Celler: Bravo Charlie Management

Pamela Charbit: A&R Manager, Atlantic Records

Garry Charny: CEO/Producer, Spotted Turquoise

Deborah Conway: Artist

Leanne Coronel: President, The Coronel Group

Emmanuelle Chriqui: Actress

Raye Cosbert: Managing Director, Metropolis Music

Ian Daly: Head of Brand Strategy, Live Nation

Greg Daniels: Writer and Producer

Josh Deutsch: Chairman/CEO, Premier Music Group

Avi Diamond: Director, Film & Licensing Warner Chappell Music

Kosha Dillz: Artist

Craig Dorfman: President and Owner, Frontline MGMT

David Draiman: Artist, Frontman of Disturbed

Stephan Elliot: Director

Craig Emanuel: Partner, Paul Hastings LLC

Ron Fair: Record Producer & CEO, Faircraft Inc.

Sharon Farber: Composer

Daniel Federman: Owner, Maccabi Tel Aviv

Ken Fermaglich: Partner, United Talent Agency

Josh Fluxgold: President, One Way MGMT

Erica Forster: VP of Music Partnerships, DanceOn

Gary Foster: Principal at Krasnoff Foster Productions

Jordan Frazes: Founder, Frazes Creative

Daryl Friedman: Former Chief Advocacy & Industry Relations Officer for The Recording Academy

Siri Garber: President, Platform Public Relations

David Gardner: President, Artists First

Andrew Genger: Manager, Red Light Management

Gary Gersh: President of Global Talent, AEG

Gary Ginsberg: Former Senior VP, SoftBank Group Corp.

Daniel Glass: President and Founder, Glassnote Records

Karen Glauber: President, HITS Magazine

David Glick: Founder & CEO, Edge Group

Elon Gold: Comedian

Michael Goldwasser: Producer & President/Co-Founder, Easy Star Records

Lara Goodridge: Musician, (FourPlay/Baby et Lulu)

Andrew Gould: Senior Music Executive

Cary Granat: CEO, Immersive Artistry

Trudy Green: Trudy Green Management/HK

Steve Greenberg: President, S-Curve Records

Scott Greenberg: Manager and Partner at LBI Entertainment

Ronnie Harris: Partner, Harris & Trotter LLP

Jo Hart: Founder, Hart Media

Avi Hirshbein: Associate, Sony Production Music

Richard “BournRich” Ingram: Artist, Creative Director

Ilya Isakovich: Australian Chamber Orchestra

Neil Jacobson: Founder, Hallwood Media

Jonathan Jakubowicz: Writer and Director

Rick Kalowski: Screenwriter/Producer

Zach Katz: President, Raised In Space

Ilan Kidron: Songwriter/Musician

Scott Kluge: President, Tremendous Entertainment

Amanda Kogan: Agent, The Gersh Agency

Rick Krim: Co-Founder, Worldwired Music

Romi Kupfer: Artistic Director (RK Collaborations)

Gabz Landman: VP of A&R, Warner Records

Sherry Lansing: Former CEO of Paramount Pictures

Colin Lester OBE: Founder/Chairman, JEM Music Group

David Levy: Partner, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment

David Levy: Former President of Turner/WarnerMedia, Founder of Back Nine Ventures

David Lonner: CEO, The David Lonner Co.

Ben Maddahi: SVP A&R, Columbia Records

Gabriel Mann: Composer/Producer

Susan Markheim: Manager, Full Stop Mgt., The Azoff Company

Orly Marley: President, Tuff Gong Worldwide

Nancy Matalon: VP of A&R, Spirit Music Group

David Mazouz: Actor

Julia McCrossin: Broadcaster/Comedian

Leetal Nissenbaum: VP of Synchronization and Licensing, Ultra Records

Lisa Nupoff: Manager, IMINMUSIC Management

Scott Packman: SSP Partners

Mike Praw: Music Executive

David Renzer: Former Chairman/CEO of Universal Music Publishing

Jaimison M. Roberts: Attorney

Hanna Rochelle: Founder & President, Lyric Culture

Dan Rosen: Music Executive

Rick Rosen: Co-Founder, Endeavor

Michael Rotenberg: Partner, 3 Arts Entertainment

Autumn Rowe: Songwriter, Producer, DJ

Haim Saban: Chairman & CEO, Saban Capital Group

Jacqueline Saturn: President, Virgin Music

Ayelet Schiffman: SVP Head of Promotions, Island Records

Paul Schindler: Senior Chair of the New York Entertainment and Media Practice

Steve Schnur: President of Music, Electronic Arts

Jordan Schur: CEO & Chairman, Mimran Schur Pictures & Suretone Entertainment

Sam Schwartz: Partner, Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency

Camila Seta: Marketing & Content Strategy, Rogers & Cowan

Emile Sherman: Producer, See-Saw Films

Noah “Westside Gravy” Shufutinsky: Artist

Ben Silverman: Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Propagate Content

Ralph Simon: Chairman & CEO, Mobilium Global Limited

Marty Singer: Attorney, Lavely and Singer

Jeff Sosnow: EVP A&R, Warner Music

Donna Spievak: Director of Strategic Marketing, Interscope Records

Nancy Spielberg: Filmmaker

Jonathan Steinsapir: Partner, Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert LLP

Gary Stiffelman: Founder, GSS Law

Aaron Symonds: Composer

Traci Szymanski: President, Co-Star Entertainment

Adam Taylor: President, APM Music

Noa Tishby: Actress, Producer

Fred Toczek: Partner, Felker Toczek Gelman Suddleson

Eric Tuchman: Writer, Producer

Jeremy Vuernick: Executive VP of A&R, Capitol Records

Diane Warren: Songwriter, Producer

Joshua Washington: Artist, Producer

Jon Weinbach: President, Skydance Sports

Nola Weinstein: Global Head of Culture & Experiential, Twitter

Evan Winiker: Managing Partner, Range Media

Jeffrey Winter: Executive Director, The Film Collaborative

Sharon Tal Yguado: Founder & CEO, Astrid Entertainment

David Zedeck: Global Head of Music, United Talent Agency

Willy Zygier: Artist

Signatories as of January 9, 2021:

Alex Voihanski: President Unity Through Sport

Anthony Bregman: Producer, Likely Story

Avi Goldstein: Rockaway Nissan

Deborah Harris: The Deborah Harris Agency, Founder and Director

Dr. Evgeny Sorkin: Performer

Dror Shaul: Filmmaker

Efrat Lev: Foreign Rights Director, the Deborah Harris Literary Agency

Fay Sussman: The Klezmer Fivas Band

Geoff Sirmai: Arts Publicist, Actor

George Eltman: The Deborah Harris Agency

Immanuel Suttner: Poet

Isser Feiglin: Performer

Jennifer Hillman: H S Consulting, Waterhole Art

Lloyd Morris: Lloyd Morris Promotions

Nick Shay Deutsch: Former Artistic Director Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM)

Ole Bohn: A/Professor Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Roger Velik: Director, Leopard View Pty Ltd

Sam Weiss: Composer for Film & Television/Saxophonist

Sean Marks: Partner, Marks Law Group

Sheldon Sroloff: VP Creative Artist Agency

Sondra Gordon: Quest/CCNY, New York City, N.Y. U.S.A.

Tamar Simon: Mean Streets Management

Victoria S Cook: Partner, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz

Vladimir Fanshil: Conductor, Producer

Jack Eppington: Artist, Epmusic

David Bernard: Senior BP, CHEAR CENTER

Jackie & Steven Worth: The Mighty Music Machine & Mighty Mixes

Mohammad Baqlawa: Composer, Film & Television/UAEspoort

Hilda Feinstein: Quest Lifelong Learning

Michael Nebenzahl: Managing Director, Playbill Group

Dr Gene Sherman AM: Founder and Director, Sherman Centre for Culture and Ideas

Tony Weinstein: DePauw University

Ilana Wernick: Writer/Producer

Susan Fisher: Actress

Valerie Nissim: Writer

Talia Harris Ram: TV and Film Manager at the Deborah Harris Agency

Jennifer Herzog: Theatre Practitioner/Arts Educator

Nicola Furst: Producer Furst Class Productions

Roderic Wachovsky: Playwright/Director, Happy Guy Theater

Michael Zweig: Attorney

Sonya Lifschitz: Head of Music Performance and Creative Practice, University of NSW

Alyson Fishbein: Singer/Songwriter and Biological Anthropologist

Jeanne Pepper Bernstein: Founder #BlazeitForward

Josh Roehl: Singer/Songwriter

Daniel Scharf: Producer/Talent Agent

Austen Tayshus: Comedian

Jonathan Shteinman: Bluewater Pictures

ABOUT CREATIVE COMMUNITY FOR PEACE:** Note – The signers of this statement do so as individuals on their own behalf and not on behalf of their companies or organizations. All organizations and companies listed are for affiliation purposes only.

Founded by entertainment industry executives, Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) is a non-profit organization comprised of prominent members of the entertainment industry who have come together to promote the arts as a means to peace, to counter antisemitism within the entertainment industry, and to galvanize support against the cultural boycott of Israel. CCFP is apolitical and does not stand for any government official or party. Instead, CCFP believes in artists and their ability to affect lives and effect positive change in the world. For more information please visit: creativecommunityforpeace.com

Add your name to our letter by visiting http://ccfpeace.org/?SydneyFestival

For more information please contact us directly at info@creativecommunityforpeace.com.

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Anti-Jewish Bias Is Spreading in Arts and Culture

By Hilary Danailova January 2022

There is little doubt that antisemitism in America has intensified recently. In the world of arts and culture, it may be more subtle than a scrawled swastika or a torched synagogue, but anti-Jewish bias in that realm is nonetheless a growing phenomenon.

This bias plays out in multiple ways, according to those looking at culture through a Jewish lens. One of the most recognizable is the marginalization—even demonization—of Israel, with Israeli narratives and artists who perform in Israel targeted by cultural boycotts. At the same time, debate persists among academics and media industry professionals about the degree to which Jews and Jewish stories are excluded from current diversity conversations.

Controversies around Israel “happen every year,” observed Shayna Weiss, the associate director of Brandeis University’s Schusterman Center for Israel Studies and a scholar of Jews in popular culture. “I think we see it more now because it’s easier to find these things online.”

*Photo from ‘Happier Than Ever,’ Mason Poole/Disney.*

A prime example is the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), in whose name pro-Palestinian activists have bullied entertainers who perform in Israel for years. Yet today, we watch the back-and-forth in real time on social media platforms that weren’t as popular, or weren’t around, back when the movement first emerged in the early 2000s. Announcements of a November concert in Israel by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas were met with instant boycott calls on Facebook and Twitter. And last July, singer/songwriter Billie Eilish’s Instagram account was targeted by antisemitic trolls after she promoted the launch in Israel of her album Happier Than Ever.

Social media has amplified other recent dustups, including popular Irish author Sally Rooney’s refusal to allow an Israeli publisher to translate her latest novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You, into Hebrew; comedian Sarah Silverman calling out “Jewface,” a neologism to describe non-Jewish actors playing Jewish roles, in a September podcast; and in spring 2021, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators issuing, and then apologizing for, a statement that condemned antisemitism.

The entertainment community for the most part is very liberal. And on the left, unfortunately, if you support Israel, you’re being pushed out of those spaces,” said Ari Ingel, director of Creative Community for Peace, a nonprofit arts industry group that combats antisemitism, specifically the cultural boycott of Israel.

Ingel is among those who bemoan a progressive tendency to critique Israel’s complex, multicultural society in terms of America’s charged racial paradigm—“white oppressors, brown victims,” he said, with Israeli Jews cast as the oppressors. “It has been lumped into: If you’re a Zionist, that means you’re a colonizer. When you have Israel labeled a genocidal state and 90 percent of Jews in America support Israel, then all of a sudden Jews support genocide.” At a time when racial issues dominate American discourse, this perception has led to the increase in anti-Jewish sentiment.

On her podcast, Sarah Silverman discussed issues around ‘Jewface,’ when non-Jews are cast as Jewish characters, such as Rachel Brosnahan as Midge Maisel and Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle as Midge’s parents in ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.’ Photo courtesy of Kast Media.

“We’ve seen these views emanate online from influencers in the entertainment community,” Ingel added. In 2020, rapper Ice Cube tweeted antisemitic images of a mural with large-nosed men playing Monopoly on the backs of Black people. The same year, Nick Cannon, host of the reality competition show The Masked Singer, shared classic antisemitic conspiracy theories on his podcast, asking why “we give so much power to the ‘theys,’ and ‘theys’ turn into Illuminati, the Zionists, the Rothschilds.”

In response, ViacomCBS canceled Cannon’s improv comedy television show, Wild N’ Out. The entertainer apologized and engaged in dialogue with the Jewish community. His show is now back on the air.

Ingel said his organization provides “balance” to what is often a strongly anti-Jewish discourse, supporting entertainers and sports figures who work in Israel. Last October, the group published an open letter protesting a boycott of TLVFest, the annual Tel Aviv International LGBTQ+ Film Festival. The 200 entertainment industry signatories included actors Neil Patrick Harris, Billy Porter and Helen Mirren (who, for her upcoming film role as Israeli prime minister Golda Meir, has been showered with antisemitic hate online). And nearly 50,000 artists have signed the group’s online petition against the cultural boycott of Israel since 2012, when Creative Community for Peace was founded by David Renzer, then CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group, and Steve Schnur, who heads the music division of Electronic Arts, the world’s largest video game company.

Such high-profile signatories “demonstrate to the public that there’s still broad-based support for understanding and dialogue,” Ingel noted. “Where politics can be so divisive, arts, sports and music can really bring people together.”

Some observers like Weiss, the Brandeis scholar, suggest that BDS and its offshoots may be louder than they are successful. “Israeli culture has unprecedented amounts of money and attention,” said Weiss, citing Israeli shows that have become international hits—Tehran, Fauda and Shtisel among them—as well as the many Israeli series optioned for American remakes. “Money talks, and there’s a lot of money to be made working with Israeli films and television.

“It’s easy to freak out about Sally Rooney, but that is one book versus thousands that are translated into Hebrew every year,” Weiss continued. “The internet loves outrage, but these things have to be taken in context.”

In a different sector of the arts world, anti-Israel sentiment sparked internet outrage last June when the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, one of the largest international children’s literature organizations, apologized to its Palestinian and Muslim members after they objected to a post declaring that Jews should have the “right to life, safety, and freedom from scapegoating and fear.” The original statement was posted on Facebook in response to a surge in antisemitic violence in the United States; it asked readers to join “in speaking out against all forms of hate, including antisemitism,” and made no mention of Israel or its war with Hamas that same spring. Even so, pro-Palestinian members of the society complained that the “painful” lack of a parallel denunciation of Islamophobia amounted to taking sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—an argument that caught the attention of the children’s literature community on Twitter and Facebook.

Several weeks later, Lin Oliver, the society’s executive director, apologized on Facebook to everyone in the “Palestinian community who felt unrepresented, silenced, or marginalized.” (The society declined repeated requests for comment.) The controversy led to the resignation of the society’s chief equity and inclusion officer, April Powers, who is Black and Jewish. It also prompted many Jewish writers to voice discontent over their exclusion from industry diversity conversations and heightened their concerns about being targeted on social media.

Helen Estrin, a past president of the Association of Jewish Libraries, said this marginalization occurs because Jews, who are historically well represented in cultural industries, “are seen as having enough privilege and power that they don’t need support. It is unconscious—people aren’t walking around, for the most part, with swastikas—but I absolutely think it’s antisemitism.”

What Jewish authors notice in particular, Estrin said, is that they are excluded from minority grants and diversity programs, such as the ones run by the society, and that they are frequently harassed online. Authors also have complained that mainstream publishers reject Jewish- and Israel-themed books, a topic often discussed in the Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook group that Estrin administers with Susan Kusel.

“Frankly, we feel gaslit,” said Kusel, a member of the society whose most recent book is The Passover Guest. Jews are not being included in the diversity conversations, she believes, because their non-Jewish colleagues feel that “Jews do not need the boost. At the same time, we’re being persecuted as a minority.”

Even before her debut young adult novel, Once More with Chutzpah, was published, writer Haley Neil confronted a torrent of online hatred for her story of a girl grappling with Jewish identity on a trip through Israel, which she based on her experiences growing up Jewish in an interfaith home. “This book supports genocide” is typical of many antisemitic comments Neil found about her book on Goodreads, a major online book platform that features early reviews of upcoming titles. “I worried my book would never reach an audience, because people who haven’t read it made false accusations about its contents,” Neil said of the novel, due out this February.

“The increasing focus on diversity in the kidlit space is wonderful,” said Tzivia MacLeod, a Canadian-Israeli author who has won awards from PJ Library (which published two of her titles) and is a regional adviser for the Israeli chapter of the society. “But it has created questions and resentment for authors.” Jews, she said, “need to start demanding a place at the [diversity] table for our own unique and underrepresented background, whether from North Africa, the Middle East or Europe.”

Tensions around presence and visibility complicate issues like “Jewface,” according to Shaina Hammerman, associate director at Stanford University’s Taube Center for Jewish Studies. With its reference to the history of white entertainers putting on blackface, Jewface refers not only to non-Jews cast as Jewish characters, but also to particular mannerisms or references that are uncomfortably close to ethnic caricature—roles “where Jewishness is front and center,” the Jewish comedian Sarah Silverman said, addressing the topic in the much-debated September episode of The Sarah Silverman Podcast.

The Jewface complaint also highlights how frequently non-Jews are cast in high-profile Jewish roles—especially those involving conventionally attractive or refined characters, like Midge Maisel and her parents in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, or historically important figures, like Helen Mirren as the titular character in an upcoming biopic of Golda Meir or Felicity Jones as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the film On the Basis of Sex.

In his recent book Jews Don’t Count: How Identity Politics Failed One Particular Identity, which discusses anti-Jewish bias in media and culture, British television personality David Baddiel calls the issues around Jewface a “passive” antisemitism.

“Look for the absence: the absence, in this case, of concern” and outrage in the public discourse, he writes, when non-Jewish actors play Jewish characters.
Indeed, on her podcast, Silverman insisted she was not calling for change so much as pointing out an uncomfortable double standard: Authentic representation is now de rigueur for virtually every minority group but Jews. Unlike other minority groups, however, Jewish actors have found work playing a range of characters.

“It’s been really important to make sure that a Native American plays a Native American character, or that an Asian play an Asian, because otherwise, historically, they weren’t getting jobs,” Hammerman, of the Taube Center for Jewish Studies, noted. “But Jewish actors are cast all the time to play non-Jews.”

In Hammerman’s view, how a Jewish character is written—as “a rich and interesting human”—is more critical than who plays the role. The larger question, she added, is how to ensure that Jews and antisemitism remain part of American conversations around racism and ethnic discrimination.

For many in the arts world, “it’s hard to hold in your mind at the same time that many Jews in this country have power and access—and also, that antisemitism is real,” Hammerman reflected. “The more we can address this complexity, the better off everybody is.”

Hilary Danailova writes about travel, culture, politics and lifestyle for numerous publications.

Read the original article on Hadassah Magazine here.

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Lalela Mswane, Miss Universe South Africa 2021

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Will.i.Am

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Jewish and Arab Women’s Choir Shows How Music Builds Bridges

Although they’ve performed predominantly cover songs since their inception in 2008, Rana Choir just released an original collaboration with Los Angeles-based indie pop band Distant Cousins.

Rana Choir is the only Jewish and Arab women’s choir in Israel. It features singers from Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths who consider one another family, and their very existence as a group is an anomaly in the Middle East.

Although they’ve performed predominantly cover songs since their inception in 2008, Rana Choir just released an original collaboration with Los Angeles-based indie pop band Distant Cousins. The two groups are 7,000 miles away from each other, yet they managed to write and record a high-quality, professional sounding song, “Omdot B’Yachad / Wakfal Sawa” (“Standing Together”), using iPhones, Androids and Dropbox.

“We were not interested in doing another song about peace and love,” Rana Choir Founder Mika Danny told the Journal. “We were all at a point where we felt very angry about the situation here, very frustrated with the situation between Arab and Jews inside Israel.”

In Danny’s opinion, the prejudice and racism that come between people of different backgrounds in Israel is due to the fact that they don’t know each other personally. She sees Rana Choir as a vector to help people change their perceptions of one another.

The idea for the collaboration came from Ari Ingel, director of the L.A.-based entertainment industry nonprofit organization, Creative Community for Peace. The organization’s mission is to promote the arts for peace and use music to build bridges between diverse communities. Ingel knew of the inspiring story behind Rana Choir and thought they’d be a great fit for with Distant Cousins.

“We’re always looking to find people who are similarly aligned,” Ingel told the Journal. “Distant Cousins sent us a video they had done at the Staples Center with Muslim and Jewish kids here in L.A., and they did this amazing real-time workshop where they made a song with the kids in the room. They shout out different words and they play a chord. I thought it was phenomenal.”

The way Distant Cousins worked with the children, Ingel thought, would be an excellent way to use the arts to showcase common ground between Jews and Arabs within Israel.

Distant Cousins frequently use their musical talents to write marketing jingles for prominent businesses. The trio is adept at making music by committee, as they have been creating music to order for over seven years.

The first songwriting session began with conversations between with Rana Choir members and Distant Cousins about what the women experience daily in regards to what they call “the situation” between Jews and Arabs in Israel. Distant Cousins members Dov Rosenblatt, Duvid Swirsky and Ami Kozak led the women of the choir in a deep discussion, eliciting thoughts and frustrations together—all via Zoom.

“THAT JUST MAKES FOR THE BEST SONGS BECAUSE IT COMES FROM A REAL PLACE.”
– DOV ROSENBLATT, DISTANT COUSINS

“These women were ready to share real, important conversations…just different issues that they face, [and] politically, the disappointment they feel,” said Rosenblatt. “That just makes for the best songs because it comes from a real place.”

Towards the end of the sharing session, they asked the choir, “Where do you see the light? Where do you see hope in this situation?”

“One of the things we see over and over again in these workshops is that no matter who the people are, it’s amazing how much we have in common with each other,” Swirsky said of the collaboration process. “Having that shared goal really helps people get closer.”

Distant Cousins had the singers listen to a few songs that would influence the overall tonality, including “Imagine” by John Lennon, “We Shall Overcome” by Joan Baez and “The Times They Are A-Changin” by Bob Dylan.

The conversation was mostly in English; Swirsky, who grew up in Israel, translated for the Hebrew speakers. Distant Cousins learned some new Arabic and Hebrew phrases and expressions in the process.

However, Danny and the choir members insisted that the song must have a Middle Eastern sound, not Western, operatic or classical.

“I found out very quickly when I started working with the choir that the texture of the women’s different voices and accents is not a classical sound,” Danny said. “Their real forte is ethnic music.”

After that first sharing session, Rosenblatt, Swirsky and Kozak created a “word cloud” image of the most popular words Rana Choir members used in their discussion, including “country,” “future,” “cooperation,” “leaders,” “children,” “separatism,” “incitement,” “reality” and “people.”

Danny was impressed with how much the women’s struggles aligned in the challenging discussion. She was quick to point out, though, that the political opinions among the women of the choir are vastly divergent, yet their day-to-day challenges and desires are quite similar.

The guys of Distant Cousins came back with a song with a Middle Eastern tone, and lyrics mostly in English (with some Hebrew and Arabic interspersed throughout). These are the opening lines:

I am worried
I am tired
Where is our country?
Lost in a losing fight
To my children
You are my hope
Tomorrow will be better

Harmonies were written. The tenors, altos and sopranos were each assigned their respective arrangements. Rana Choir members recorded their parts and uploaded them to Dropbox, and Kozak layered and optimized the tracks, like any other song production. Drums and strings were added, and the result, “Omdot B’Yachad / Wakfal Sawa,” can be seen on YouTube.

Looking back, Danny reflected on lessons the world can learn from Rana Choir.

“When you sing in a choir, the most basic thing is [that] you have to always listen carefully to the person on your right and on your left, and be synchronized with them,” Danny said. “I think we all listen much more when we sing than when we talk. Just listening is a good starting point for a dialogue. It creates a great intimacy, hearing each other’s voices, hearing the person next to you expressing at this specific moment.”

Watch the entire video here.

Read the entire article on Jewish Journal here.

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Helen Mirren and Mila Kunis slam boycott of Israeli LGBTQ+ film festival

Click here to read the article.

Helen Mirren, Mila Kunis and Zachary Quinto have slammed filmmakers calling for a boycott of an Israeli LGBTQ+ film festival.

Last year, moviemakers including Turner Prize winner Charlotte Prodger and Palme d’Or nominee Alain Guiraudie led calls for a boycott of the Tel Aviv International LGBTQ Film Festival in protest of the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.

Ahead of this year’s event, a host of big names including Helen, Mila, Zachary, Neil Patrick Harris, Billy Porter, and Gene Simmons have signed a letter slamming activists and entertainment figures who back a boycott.

“We reject any attempt to boycott TLVFest – Israel’s largest LGBTQ Film Festival – which works to showcase the stories of LGBTQ people globally and create a brighter future for LGBTQ people both inside Israel and around the world,” their letter, published by the Creative Community for Peace nonprofit, reads. “We stand united with all the participating filmmakers against the divisive rhetoric espoused by boycott activists who seek to misinform, bully and intimidate artists into removing their films from the festival or shame them for participating in the festival.”

The upcoming event, also known as TLVFest, is slated to start on 11 November. Each year it comes under fire from activists from the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement who demand their supporters cut cultural and economic ties with Israel.

The movement has some high-profile supporters, including Roger Waters, Brian Eno and Normal People author Sally Rooney, while Lorde also cancelled a concert in Israel at the request of fans backing a boycott.

However, it has been called antisemitic for its singling out of Israel for action, and acts including Radiohead and Nick Cave have slammed those requesting they do not perform in the Jewish state.

Cover Photo: Getty Images -Credit: Amy Sussman / Staff

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Alicia Keys

CCFPeace In Press Release

Entertainment Industry Leaders Stand United Against Cultural Boycott of Israel and In Support of LGBTQ+ Film Festival and Filmmakers

Mila Kunis, Neil Patrick Harris, Mayim Bialik, Billy Porter, Dame Helen Mirren, Phil Rosenthal, Zachary Quinto, Sherry Lansing, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Dana Goldberg, Gene Simmons, Greg Berlanti, Edgar Ramirez, Tracy Ann Oberman, and Diane Warren among 200+ celebrities and entertainment industry professionals to sign open letter against boycott of Israel’s largest LGBTQ+ film festival.

LOS ANGELES (Oct 27 2021) — More than 200 leaders from the entertainment industry have signed an open letter released by the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community For Peace in support of the Tel Aviv International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (TLVFest) and the participating filmmakers.

The entertainment leaders stand united in rejecting the cultural boycott of Israel as yet another roadblock to peace and its subversion of art for nefarious political purposes. At a time when the LGBTQ+ Community around the world continues to face immense discrimination, it is especially abhorrent to call for a boycott of an event that gives a voice to their stories and struggles.

The open letter comes in response to attempts by anti-Israel activists to boycott a film festival that celebrates international voices from the LGBTQ+ community, including the Middle East. TLVFest represents the epitome of coexistence, and regularly features Palestinian films, including two this year.

“In Israel, movies have the unique power to bring together Jews, Arabs, and people of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in collaboration under a shared love of the arts, working together towards the common goal of telling their stories, and building bridges of compassion and understanding,” the letter reads.

Signatories to the open letter include: Neil Patrick Harris (Actor); Dame Helen Mirren (Actress); Mila Kunis (Actress); Zach Quinto (Actor); Mayim Bialik (Actress); Emmanuelle Chriqui (Actress); Aaron Bay-Schuck (CEO/Co-Chairman Warner Record); Jeremy Piven (Actor, Comedian); Marty Adelstein (CEO Tomorrow Studios); Jonathan Tucker (Actor); Billy Porter (Actor); Gene Simmons (Artist, KISS); Edgar Ramirez (Actor); Greg Berlanti (Producer, Director); Haim Saban (Chairman & CEO, Saban Capital Group); Robbie Rogers (Athlete); Dana Goldberg (Chief Creative Officer of Skydance); Simon Callow (Actor); Tracy Ann Oberman (Actress); Lance Bass (Artist); David Burtka (Actor); John Benjamin Hickey (Actor); Rick Rosen (Co-Founder of Endeavor); Ben Silverman (Chairman & Co-CEO, Propagate Content); Melissa Rivers (Actress, TV Host); Paul Feig (Actor/Director); Michael Rotenberg (Partner, 3 Arts Entertainment); Eric Balfour (Actor); Rachel Riley (TV Host); Richard Benjamin (Actor/Director); Diane Warren (Songwriter); and Sherry Lansing (Former CEO of Paramount Pictures) amongst many others.

The letter’s signatories believe strongly in the power of film to bring people together, transcend boundaries, broaden awareness, and affect positive societal change. They also call on their friends and colleagues to join in expressing support for a successful TLVFest 2021.

“We stand united with all the participating filmmakers against the divisive rhetoric espoused by boycott activists who seek to misinform, bully and intimidate artists into removing their films from the festival or shame them for participating in the festival,” the letter continues.

“Anti-Israel boycott activists intentionally use inflammatory language and make provocative statements, to try and bully filmmakers into backing out. Their messages intentionally involve an element of dishonesty and misinformation that only furthers hostility and dampens hope for peace, which all of us so urgently desire,” stated Ari Ingel, Director of Creative Community for Peace.

Ingel added that “support of the boycott movement is also counterproductive and instead of amplifying the voices of coexistence trying to effect real change on the ground, those who support the calls for a boycott are only creating more hostility and division.”

OPEN LETTER

We, the undersigned, believe that artistic freedom and creative expression are critical to a healthy, diverse, and inclusive society.

Films have the power to bring people together, transcend boundaries, broaden awareness, and affect positive societal change.

In Israel, movies have the unique power to bring together Jews, Arabs, and people of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in collaboration under a shared love of the arts, working together towards the common goal of telling their stories, and building bridges of compassion and understanding.

The annual Tel Aviv International LGBTQ Film Festival (TLVFest) embodies this spirit of unity and truth, featuring films from filmmakers of all backgrounds, including Palestinians.

For this reason, we reject any attempt to boycott TLVFest – Israel’s largest LGBTQ Film Festival — which works to showcase the stories of LGBTQ people globally and create a brighter future for LGBTQ people both inside Israel and around the world.

We stand united with all the participating filmmakers against the divisive rhetoric espoused by boycott activists who seek to misinform, bully and intimidate artists into removing their films from the festival or shame them for participating in the festival.

We believe that anyone who works to subvert TLVFest merely adds yet another roadblock to freedom, justice, equality, and peace that we all desperately desire, especially for the LGBTQ community that is persecuted throughout the Middle East and around the world.

Artists should never be silenced, and art should not be subverted for political goals.

We call on our friends and colleagues worldwide to join us in expressing their support for a successful and exciting TLVFest 2021.

SIGNATORIES

Aaron Bay-Schuck: CEO/Co-Chairman Warner Records

Jason Adelman: Vice President, Brand Innovators

Orly Adelson: Producer, Orly Adelson Productions

Marty Adelstein: CEO, Tomorrow Studios

Michael Adler: Partner of Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler, Feldman & Clark Inc.

Javier Adrados: Music Journalist

Dan Aloni: Partner, Motion Pictures, William Morris Endeavor

Nate Auerbach: Partner, Versus Creative

Michael Auerbach: Partner at Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein

Eric Balfour: Actor

Craig Balsam: Co-Founder, Razor & Tie Entertainment

Eve Barlow: Music/Culture Journalist

Jonathan Baruch: Partner, Rain Management Group

Richard Baskind: Partner & Head of Music, Simons Muirhead & Burton

Lance Bass: Artist, Entrepreneur

Miles Beard: Senior Vice President, A&R at Artist Partner Group, Inc.

Jonathan Beckerman: Agent, United Talent Agency

Pablo Bendersky: Producer/Artist

Jacob Benbunan: CEO, Saffon Brand Consultants

Aton Ben-Horin: Global Vice President of A&R for Warner Music Group

Richard Benjamin: Actor/Director

Steven Bensusan: President, Blue Note Entertainment Group

Shelly Berger: Music Manager

Adam Berkowitz: Founder and President, Lenore Entertainment Group

Greg Berlanti: Producer, Director

Sara Berman: Artist

Luc Bernard: Director, Voices of the Forgotten

Mayim Bialik: Actress

Sharon Bialy: Casting Director

Josh Binder: Partner, Rotherberg, Mohr, and Binder LLP

Neil Blair: Partner, The Blair Partnership

Evan Bogart: Songwriter & Co-Founder of Boardwalk Entertainment Group

Howard Bragman: Publicist

Josh Brill: Writer, Producer

A.J. Buckley: Actor

David Burtka: Actor/Chef

David Byrnes: Partner, Ziffren, Brittenham, LLP

Sir Colin Callender CBE: Producer and CEO, Playground Entertainment

Simon Callow: Actor, Director

Nick Carter: Artist

Markell Casey: Senior Director A&R, Sony Music Australia

Brian Celler: Bravo Charlie Management

Pamela Charbit: A&R Manager, Atlantic Records

Emmanuelle Chriqui: Actress, Activist

Erran Baron Cohen: Composer

Paul Colichman: Chief Executive Officer at Here Media, Inc.

Victoria S. Cook: Partner, Frankfurt Kurmit Klein & Selz

Leanne Coronel: President, The Coronel Group

Raye Cosbert: Managing Director, Metropolis Music

Ian Daly: Head of Brand Strategy, Live Nation

Greg Daniels: Writer and Producer

Yuval David: Actor, Host, Filmmaker, and Advocate

Josh Deutsch: Chairman/CEO, Premier Music Group

Jenna Dewan: Actress

Avi Diamond: Director, Film & Licensing Warner Chappell Music

Kosha Dillz: Artist

Craig Dorfman: President and Owner, Frontline MGMT

David Draiman: Artist, Frontman of Disturbed

Doug Ellin: Screenwriter, Director

Stephan Elliott: Director

Craig Emanuel: Partner, Paul Hastings LLC

Ron Fair: Record Producer & CEO, Faircraft Inc.

Sharon Farber: Composer

Daniel Federman: Owner, Maccabi Tel Aviv

Eric Feig: Founder, Eric Feig Entertainment & Media Law Inc.

Paul Feig: Actor, Director, Producer

Ryan Feldman: Agent, William Morris Endeavor

Patti Felker: Partner, Felker Toczek Gelman Suddleson

Jacob Fenton: Partner, United Talent Agency

Ken Fermaglich: Partner, United Talent Agency

Rodney Ferrell: EVP, Head of Scripted, Propagate

Greg Fleishman: Co-Founder & CEO, Foodstirs

Josh Fluxgold: President, One Way MGMT

Erica Forster: VP of Music Partnerships, DanceOn

Gary Foster: Principal at Krasnoff Foster Productions

Jordan Frazes: Founder, Frazes Creative

Ben Freeman: Educator and Writer

Sonia Friedman OBE: Theatre Producer

Stephen Fry: Actor

Siri Garber: President, Platform Public Relations

David Gardner: President, Artists First

Nancy Gates: Partner, United Talent Agency

Andrew Genger: Manager, Red Light Management

Gary Gersh: President of Global Talent, AEG

Gary Ginsberg: Former Senior VP, SoftBank Group Corp.

Daniel Glass: President and Founder, Glassnote Records

Karen Glauber: President, HITS Magazine

David Glick: Founder & CEO, Edge Group

Elon Gold: Comedian

Dana Goldberg: Chief Creative Officer, Skydance

Iddo Goldberg: Actor

Michael Goldwasser: Producer & President/Co-Founder, Easy Star Records

Andrew Gould: EVP Music Publishing, Roc Nation

Trudy Green: Trudy Green Management/HK

Steve Greenberg: President, S-Curve Records

Scott Greenberg: Manager and Partner at LBI Entertainment

Paul Haas: Agent, Partner William Morris Endeavor

Sarah Halioua: Producer and Partner, Abracadabra Audiovisual

Alex Hai: Writer, Director

Neil Patrick Harris: Actor

Ronnie Harris: Partner, Harris & Trotter LLP

John Benjamin Hickey: Actor

Tom Holland: Author/Historian

Wes Hurley: Filmmaker/Writer

Erik Hyman: Partner, Paul Hastings

Richard “BournRich” Ingram: Artist, Creative Director

Neil Jacobson: Founder, Hallwood Media

Jonathan Jakubowicz: Writer and Director

Zach Katz: President, Raised In Space

Lee Kern: Screenwriter

Scott Kluge: President, Tremendous Entertainment

Amanda Kogan: Agent, The Gersh Agency

Rick Krim: Co-Founder, Worldwired Music

Mila Kunis: Actress

Gabz Landman

Sherry Lansing: Former CEO of Paramount Pictures

Joanie Leeds: Singer/Songwriter

Sam Leifer: Writer/Director

Teddy Leifer: Producer

Martin Lesak: Partner, United Talent Agency

Colin Lester OBE: Founder/Chairman, JEM Music Group

Alberto Levy: Artist, Technologist

David Levy: Partner, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment

David Levy: Former President of Turner/WarnerMedia, Founder of Back Nine Ventures

Jonathan Lipnicki: Actor

David Lonner: CEO, The David Lonner Co.

Ben Maddahi: SVP A&R, Columbia Records

Imran Majid: Co-CEO, Island Records

Gabriel Mann: Composer/Producer

Susan Markheim: Manager, Full Stop Mgt., The Azoff Company

Orly Marley: President, Tuff Gong Worldwide

Nancy Matalon: VP of A&R, Spirit Music Group

David Mazouz: Actor

AJ McLean: Artist

Doron Medalie: Composer

Helen Mirren DRE: Actress

Sebastian Moguilevsky: Managing Director, Warner Bros. Spain and Portugal

Max Mutchnick: Executive Producer

Guy Nattiv: Director

Leetal Nissenbaum: VP of Synchronization and Licensing, Ultra Records

Lisa Nupoff: Manager, IMINMUSIC Management

Tracy Ann Oberman: Actress

Sharon Osbourne: Television Personality, Manager

Mandi Perkins: Artist, Songwriter

Trevor Phillips OBE: Journalist and Commentator

Jonah Platt: Actor/Writer

Jeremy Piven: Actor, Comedian

Billy Porter: Actor

Mike Praw

Paula Prentiss: Actress

Zachary Quinto: Actor

Edgar Ramirez: Actor

Itay Reiss: Talent Manager

David Renzer: Former Chairman/CEO of Universal Music Publishing

Zak Resnick: Actor

Rachel Riley: TV Host

Melissa Rivers: Actress, TV Host

Lindy Robbins: Artist

Jaimison M. Roberts: Attorney

Hanna Rochelle: Founder & President, Lyric Culture

Robbie Rogers: Professional Soccer Player

Dan Rosen: President of Warner Music Australasia

Rick Rosen: Co-Founder, Endeavor

Howard Rosenman: Producer, Actor, Writer

Shep Rosenman: Partner, Katz Golden Roseman LLP

Phil Rosenthal: Writer, Producer

Michael Rotenberg: Partner, 3 Arts Entertainment

Autumn Rowe: Songwriter, Producer, DJ

Haim Saban: Chairman & CEO, Saban Capital Group

Jacqueline Saturn: President, Virgin Music

Ayelet Schiffman: SVP Head of Promotions, Island Records

Paul Schindler: Senior Chair of the New York Entertainment and Media Practice

Steve Schnur: President of Music, Electronic Arts

Jordan Schur: CEO & Chairman, Mimran Schur Pictures & Suretone Entertainment

Sam Schwartz: Partner, Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency

Camila Seta: Marketing & Content Strategy, Rogers & Cowan

DJ White Shadow: Producer/Artist

Noah “Westside Gravy” Shufutinsky: Artist

Ben Silverman: Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Propagate Content

Gene Simmons: Artist, KISS

Ralph Simon: Chairman & CEO, Mobilium Global Limited

Marty Singer: Attorney, Lavely and Singer

Robert Singer: President, Dec. 3^rd Productions

Danielle Solzman: Film Critic, Solzy at the Movies

Jeff Sosnow: EVP A&R, Warner Music

Nancy Spielberg: Producer, Playmount Productions

Donna Spievak: Director of Strategic Marketing, Interscope Records

Justin Sternberg: Writer

Jonathan Steinsapir: Partner, Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert LLP

Gary Stiffelman: Founder, GSS Law

Lior Suchard: Master Mentalist

Aaron Symonds: Composer

Traci Szymanski: President, Co-Star Entertainment

Alona Tal: Actress

Adam Taylor: President, APM Music

Noa Tishby: Actress, Producer

Fred Toczek: Partner, Felker Toczek Gelman Suddleson

Eric Tuchman: Writer, Producer

Jonathan Tucker: Actor

Ronli Tzour: VP Marketing & Manager, First Access Entertainment

Tehran Von Ghasri: Entertainer

Jeremy Vuernick: Executive VP of A&R, Capitol Records

Diane Warren: Songwriter, Producer

Joshua Washington: Artist, Producer

Tom Watson: Former Shadow Secretary of State for Culture

Jon Weinbach: President, Skydance Sports

Nola Weinstein: Global Head of Culture & Experiential, Twitter

Ron West: Co-founder and Partner, Thruline Entertainment

Evan Winiker: Managing Partner, Range Media

Jeffrey Winter: Executive Director, The Film Collaborative

Shirin Yadegar: Journalist

Sharon Tal Yguado: Founder & CEO, Astrid Entertainment

Sebastian Zar Esq.: Sedlmayr & Associates

David Zedeck: Global Head of Music, United Talent Agency

** Note – The signers of this statement do so as individuals on their own behalf and not on behalf of their companies or organizations. All organizations and companies listed are for affiliation purposes only.

CCFPeace In Article

EXCLUSIVE: Billie Eilish becomes victim of ‘manufactured outrage’: Singer’s Instagram was targeted by anti-Semitic bots and trolls after she promoted her new album on MTV Israel, report reveals

Read the original article on Daily Mail here.

A new social media analysis shows Billie Eilish’s Instagram account was targeted by anti-Semitic bots and trolls after she promoted her new album on MTV Israel
The 19-year-old pop singer released a video to her Israeli audience on July 31, announcing the release of her second studio album, Happier Than Ever
Her account was then ‘flooded with thousands of bot-driven comments consisting of Palestinian flags and other Palestine solidarity-themed comments’
A report by pro-Israel organization titled ‘Manufactured Outrage’ obtained by DailyMail.com six posts Eilish made between July 31 and August 5
Among the top comments, 30 per cent were anti-Israel and posted by users with no posts on their personal profile (a strong indicator of bot activity)
Director Ari Ingel told DailyMail.com it’s ‘difficult to say for certain’ who’s behind the attacks, but the CCFP suspects ‘state actors’ including Iran
‘These are fraudulent accounts, carrying out coordinated Anti-Israel campaigns by actors who have one goal, and that’s to demonize and delegitimize Israel,’ he said

By Josh Boswell

PUBLISHED: 08:35 EDT, 11 October 2021 | UPDATED: 13:56 EDT, 11 October 2021

Billie Eilish was targeted by armies of anti-Semitic bots and trolls online after promoting her new album on MTV Israel, a new social media analysis found.

The 19-year-old pop singer made a series of promotional videos for her second studio album, Happier Than Ever, each tailored to a different country, following its July 30 release.

She shared a clip on July 31 aimed at her Israeli audience, saying ‘Hi Israel, I’m so excited that my new album, ‘Happier Than Ever,’ is out now.’

Her Instagram account was then ‘flooded with thousands of bot-driven comments consisting of Palestinian flags and other Palestine solidarity-themed comments’, according to a report – titled ‘Manufactured Outrage’ – by pro-Israel organization Creative Community for Peace (CCFP).

CCFP study obtained by DailyMail.com analyzed six of Eilish’s posts after she put out her ‘Hi Israel’ video.

A new social media analysis shows Billie Eilish’s Instagram account was targeted by anti-Semitic bots and trolls after she promoted her new album on MTV Israel.

The 19-year-old pop singer appeared in a July 31 video (pictured) aimed at her Israeli audience, saying ‘Hi Israel, I’m so excited that my new album, ‘Happier Than Ever,’ is out now’

Among the top comments, 30 per cent were anti-Israel and posted by users with no posts on their personal profile (a strong indicator of bot activity). Those comments received 235,995 likes. Another 12 percent were posted by users with only one or two posts on their profiles.

The report describes the onslaught of anti-Israel and pro-Palestine comments as a ‘coordinated attack on Billie Eilish’ and a ‘specific effort by anti-Israel activists, who use social media to distort and influence public opinion against Israel via inauthentic means.’

Billie’s second studio album Happier Than Ever was released on July 30

‘Bot armies attacked Billie Eilish’s Instagram account with waves of sock-puppet and fake account posts. This was done in an effort to overtake her influential social media page and to use it as their own bully pulpit,’ the report said.

‘The frequency and volume of the comments creates a false impression. The overwhelming presence of the comments on the videos intended to silence her from ever mentioning Israel again and to give a false impression to her fans that thousands of real people are posting comments on her posts.’

The study also highlighted reports of ‘Iranian troll farms run by the Iranian government’ which ‘amplified anti-Israel and anti-Semitic messages during the recent Israel-Hamas conflict in May, including the phrases ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘kill all Jews’ at a rate of 175 times per minute.’

CCFP director Ari Ingel told DailyMail.com that although it is ‘difficult to say for certain’ who is behind the reported social media attacks, they suspect ‘state actors’ including Iran.

A report obtained by DailyMail.com analyzed the star’s Instagram comments after the release of the video and showed her account was flooded with anti-Israel and pro-Palestine comments

Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) found 30 per cent of her top comments across six posts had anti-Israel sentiments and were posted by users with no posts on their personal profile (a strong indicator of bot activity)

Eilish posted a photo of herself with friends on the same day her video was released, attracting an onslaught of pro-Palestine comments

Pictured above are the comments left by Palestinian bots on the July 31 post and the number of likes they received

CCFP analyzed 468 comments and the profiles that made them, noting the number of likes and replies on each, and the number of posts and followers the accounts had. The majority of accounts did not have any posts on their profile

‘One thing is clear, it’s not fans of Billie Eilish, or fans of music in general,’ he said.

‘These are fraudulent accounts, carrying out coordinated Anti-Israel campaigns by actors who have one goal, and that’s to demonize and delegitimize Israel.

‘What’s striking is the sheer volume, frequency, and level of coordination we’re seeing. The people and state actors behind these campaigns understand how social media algorithms work,’ he added.

‘These attacks are very calculated as thousands of fraudulent comments flood profiles with negative comments, and then bots give these comments thousands of ‘likes’ to get them into the top slots of a post.

‘In terms of volume, 48 per cent of the ‘top comments’ of the posts we examined that were distinctly anti-Israel, shockingly garnered almost 300,000 likes.

‘That demonstrates an incredibly high-level of coordination and operational capacity. It’s disturbing that social media outlets are not doing more to crackdown on this behavior and disinformation.

‘We have seen a rise in coordinated, strategic social media campaigns to defame Israel and to bully public figures that simply mention Israel in any sort of positive light.’

The report found 48 per cent of the ‘top comments’ of the posts examined were distinctly anti-Israel and garnered almost 300,000 likes

The study, titled, ‘Manufactured Outrage’ listed a number of ‘bot’ accounts that attacked the singer’s Instagram ‘with waves of sock-puppet and fake account posts’

Billie Eilish at the 2021 Met Gala celebrating ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’ on September 13 in NYC

The report covered six Instagram posts Eilish made between July 31 and August 5, following the release of her ‘Hi Israel’ video.

CCFP analyzed 468 comments and the profiles that made them, noting the number of likes and replies on each, and the number of posts and followers the accounts had.

Of the 468 top comments, 123 or 26 per cent were deemed anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian by CCFP’s study and were made by accounts with no posts on their profiles.

The comments received a total 217,269 likes. The top ‘bot’ comment received 13,317 likes.

A further 47 comments were made by accounts that only had one or two posts on their personal profiles and were labelled ‘suspected bots’ by CCFP.

CCFP has worked with celebrities including Michael Bublé, Sherry Lansing, Gene Simmons, Meghan McCain and Selma Blair.

The organization is opposed to the ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions’ movement that targets Israel, and was founded with the purpose of helping artists and performers with navigating appearances in Israel.

Cover Photo: Getty Images – Credit: Jesse Grant / Stringer

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Diane Warren, Harvey Mason Jr., Post Malone’s Manager Among Honorees at Creative Community for Peace Fundraiser

By: Roy Trakin

On a cool, fall October night, the Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) held its third annual “Ambassadors of Peace” fundraising event to a backyard full of smiles. After taking a year off for the pandemic, the music industry came out in force to support the organization that has tried to counteract calls to boycott Israel by encouraging artists and creatives across entertainment to learn more about the region and performing in the country.

CCFP launched in 2018 with inaugural honorees Scooter Braun, then Geffen Records chief Neil Jacobson and Warner Music Group A&R executive Aton Ben-Horin. This year’s diverse crop of honorees included Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr., hit songwriter Diane Warren, Sony Music Latin America, Spain & Portugal chairman/CEO Afo Verde, Columbia Records SVP A&R/Unrestricted President Ben Madahhi, Co-Star Entertainment president Traci Szymanski, and Electric Feel Entertainment founder/CEO Austin Rosen. (Watch Post Malone, a management client at Electric Feel, congratulate Rosen via video above.)

“Music is a powerful force for diplomacy,” said publishing vet David Renzer, co-founder of CCFP with EA’s Steve Schnur (the latter was not in attendance), revealing the evening will raise more than $300k for the organization. “We’re trying to use the arts to build those bridges, to remind ourselves of those commonalities and symbiotic relationships.”

The previous two sold-out events were held at the Hancock Park home of entertainment attorney Aaron Rosenberg and TV producer Danny Rose, and the home of lawyer Gary Stiffelman and wife Carmen, but this year’s edition was at the Beverly Hills residence of honoree Ben Madahhi’s parents, his father — a cardiology doctor at UCLA who fled Iran for the U.S. in 1975 — and mother beaming on the black carpet.

“This has a deep meaning to me because I grew up an Iranian-American Jew in Los Angeles, with both Muslim and Jewish friends,” said Ben Madahhi from the podium. “Music has the power to heal, to unite people and eliminate divisiveness. My parents raised me to have respect for people of all different backgrounds and cultures. My mission has always been to make records that uplift and unite people, have a positive impact.”

For honoree Diane Warren, the appeal of the organization was simple. “Any organization that is about peace and supports Israel, I’m good with,” said the award-winning songwriter. “Anti-Semitism always seems to rear its ugly head, and it seems more prevalent than ever.”

Ari Ingel, who quit practicing law to become director of CCFP, noted that, due to the pandemic, which had people glued to their computers, there was a rise in the kind of misinformation which fuels prejudice.

“We have a great deal of work to do,” insisted Ingel. “There are more people than ever spreading misinformation and outright lies. Our goal is to educate the industry and the public to counter those falsehoods. Unfortunately, it’s far from being eradicated.”

The organization was founded against the backdrop of musicians like Roger Waters, formerly of Pink Floyd, advocating for the policy of BDS (which stands for boycott, divestment and sanctions), and Lana Del Rey pulling out of a scheduled festival performance there after much outside pressure.

“The last Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas brought out a lot of haters,” said Ingel. “Events like this encourage an open discussion of the issues, and how we can use our voices to effect positive change.”

Austin Rosen, whose Electric Feel Entertainment represents management clients like Post Malone, 24KGoldn and Iann Dior — Dior showed up in support along with hitmakers Louis Bell, Billy Walsh and Blake Slatkin — is planning on opening a recording studio in Tel Aviv and promises his acts (like Post Malone) will tour there. “It’s all about awareness, making people understand it’s OK to play there,” offered the press-shy entrepreneur.

Lazy loaded image

Grammy chief Harvey Mason Jr., who was introduced by his Recording Academy colleague Jimmy Jam (pictured above) — almost unrecognizable after a 120-pound weight loss — said of the honor:

“For me, it’s bringing people together, coming from a place of peace and love,” said Mason jr., whose efforts to diversify his organization’s membership and making the Grammy voting process more transparent have not gone unnoticed. “Political and religious beliefs may be all over the map, but my goal is to be productive, make things better rather than dividing and separating us from one another.

“I sympathize with any group that’s been discriminated against or persecuted. I try to support unifying, not battling one another. The power of music can unite us in a time where it’s most needed.”

The individual speeches were preceded by a taped message of support from Clive Davis, then followed by musical performances from Columbia Records artist Clinton Kane, a singer-songwriter who played his hit “Chicken Tendies,” followed by Deborah Cox who delivered a pitch-perfect rendition of “Imagine” that fit the hopeful mood.

It was left to Jimmy Jam, admitting he was just glad to be around people again, to sum up the evening’s goals. “What’s important is music and community,” he told Variety. “Music heals, it’s the soundtrack to our lives. Music is uplifting, it’s a divine art. It just makes things a little better.

Pictured (from left): Austin Rosen, Afo Verde, Diane Warren, Harvey Mason Jr. and Ben Madahhi

Read the original article on Variety.com here.