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By Brian Fishbach

As antisemitism continues to rise, a group of musicians has stood up against the forces of hate and built bridges through their music.

In February, when American rock band Disturbed announced that they would be playing a show in Dublin, Ireland on Oct. 22, 2025,  a petition circulated demanding the promoter cancel the show. The petition accused lead singer David Draiman of “championing the slaughter of Palestinian children” and called on “anti-colonizer” Ireland to tell him he wasn’t welcome.

By the time Disturbed took the stage on Oct. 22, the petition had reached over 10,000 signatures — roughly one for every person in the arena. The show went on as planned, and only nine days after 20 Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity in an exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Over the past two years, Draiman has been among the loudest voices in rock music confronting antisemitism. The Jewish frontman has spoken publicly about Hamas’ atrocities and called for other musicians to do the same. After several of Matisyahu’s shows were canceled in early 2024 due to pro-Palestinian protests, Draiman launched a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $29,000 to fund private security for him.

In June 2024, Draiman traveled to Israel, where he met with families of the kidnapped, visited the Hostages Families Forum offices in Tel Aviv and signed IDF artillery shells with messages directed at Hamas.

That same summer, he received the Jerusalem Post and World Zionist Organization’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Fight Against Antisemitism. Accepting it in New York, he said, “The world can seem like a very, very dark place these days. But it takes incredibly powerful light to dispel darkness, and it is up to each and every one of us to be that light.” He called on his peers to speak out: “We just experienced the worst Jewish loss of life since the Holocaust. Does something more impressive need to happen for you to finally open your mouths?”

Draiman later formed a friendship with former hostage and bereaved father Yarden Bibas, who was released from Hamas captivity on Feb. 1, 2025. Three weeks later, the dead bodies of Bibas’s wife, Shiri, and their sons, Ariel, four, and Kfir, one, were returned to Israel. During the Feb. 26 funeral at Kibbutz Nir Oz, Bibas played a recording of Disturbed’s “Hold on to Memories.” Draiman said of the song, “It was a song about the many colleagues that we’ve lost over the years — Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots), Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave).” Bennington and Cornell both died by suicide in 2017, and Weiland died of a drug overdose in 2015. Yarden had two other metal songs played at the funeral, “I Thank you Child” by Ozzy Ozbourne’s lead guitarist Zakk Wyld, and “Roman Sky” by Avenged Sevenfold.

CCFP executive director Ari Ingel informed Draiman that the father, Yarden, was a fan of Disturbed and that one of his songs was played at the funeral. After being put in touch by CCFP, Draiman and Yarden began a friendship. When the two men met in person for the first time that July in Israel, Draiman wrote on Instagram, “This man is the living embodiment of strength and perseverance. One of the sweetest and purest human beings on the planet. The very best of us. Anything, anytime, anywhere, achi. All the love. #AmYisraelChai.”

Ireland’s relationship with Israel had already grown tense by the time Disturbed arrived in Dublin. The Irish government recognized a Palestinian state in 2024, joined South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in early 2025 and watched Israel close its embassy in Dublin months later. Pro-Palestinian protests had become routine across Irish cities, while the country’s tiny Jewish community — roughly 2,000 people — reported feeling increasingly isolated. Against that backdrop, Draiman knew exactly what kind of audience he was walking into.

OCTOBER 22, 2025: DISTURBED CONCERT IN DUBLIN, IRELAND

That night in Dublin, Draiman addressed the tension.

“It’s good to be back in Dublin. This is the homeland for our guitar player, Mr. Dan Donegan. There’s something I need to remind everyone. There are many people in this world who want nothing more than to pull us apart from each other over and over and over again … Everyone is welcome, everyone is f—ing welcome at this show … I believe at the bottom of my heart that music is the best bridge building, cohesive, unifying element in the entire creation. And if there’s anything that can save the world, it’s the right f—ing music at the right time … sometimes darkness can show you the light.”

The crowd erupted. He didn’t say “antisemitism” or “Israel,” but everyone knew what he meant.

Among those in the audience was Ohad Levy, a 35-year-old Israeli studying electrical engineering in Dublin. He came for the opening act, Megadeth, but knew Draiman’s record of support for Israel.

Levy told The Journal that he expected Palestinian flags and anti-Israel signs but saw only one — which was quickly taken down. Like Draiman, he wore a Star of David around his neck. He has lived in Ireland for three years, his first language is Hebrew but he speaks English with an Irish accent. Levy said there were tears in his eyes during Draiman’s speech.

“The concert gives hope for the decent people amongst us. It’s a dream for me, I want to re-believe in society,” Levy said.

Before the Oct. 7 attacks, Draiman had already fielded calls from fellow musicians wary about scheduling concert dates in Israel.

“I reassure them and help them understand,” Draiman told the Journal in 2021. “You’re going to be dealing with a wave of s—. It’s temporary … the extremist voices are the loudest. There aren’t as many of them as you think.”

At a 2024 rally in the rain in Beverly Hills outside the offices of agent Ari Emmanuel, Draiman told The Journal that “Joseph Goebbels would’ve been very proud of the demonization we’re seeing, with all the implying that Jews drink the blood of victims of war … Music is about truth. It’s about standing up for who you are.”

When Hamas attacked southern Israel in 2023, one of their first targets was music lovers. Three hundred seventy-eight people were killed and 44 were abducted at the Nova Music Festival in Re’im. Israelis, tourists, and international DJs were still dancing when Hamas terrorists parachuted and bulldozed their way into the festival grounds starting at 6:29 a.m.

On the Wednesday before the attacks, Bruno Mars played for 70,000 people at Park HaYarkon in Tel Aviv. (A second show in Tel Aviv was scheduled for Oct. 8, but was canceled.) Mars and his crew fled Israel to Athens on Oct. 7, leaving without any of their instruments or production equipment.

Since that day, major music acts have yet to return to Israel. The Jewish State had long been a divisive tour stop for popular acts, but after Oct. 7 it became radioactive. Canceling concerts in Israel isn’t new. In 2011, when Elvis Costello called off his planned shows, Universal Music Publishing Chairman David Renzer saw a cultural boycott taking shape. Along with Steve Schnur, president of music at Electronic Arts, he founded Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) — a nonprofit of entertainment professionals formed to counter cultural boycotts and defend artistic freedom through dialogue and coexistence.

“We’re living in a time when antisemitism has reached levels that I’ve never seen in my lifetime,” Renzer told the Journal. “We must ensure that artists have the freedom to perform anywhere in the world without intimidation or fear …Our mission hasn’t changed. We continue to promote coexistence and build bridges through music.”

After Oct. 7, that mission took on new urgency.

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Borrowing from “Righteous Among the Nations,” “Righteous Among the Rockers” are the musicians and massive industry figures who, in this time of rising antisemitism, have used their voices, risked their fanbases and took public stands against antisemitism. Plenty of executives have taken quiet stands and made big moves behind the scenes. One executive under the condition of anonymity told The Journal that they got a major entertainment publication to remove the word “genocide” from two articles about Israel. But it’s the boldface names that make the loudest noise — Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Gene Simmons of KISS and John Mellencamp have taken a stand. Indeed, both were among the biggest names to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people at CCFP’s annual Ambassadors of Peace (AOP) gala in October 2025.

MATISYAHU

In early 2024, Matisyahu traveled to Israel to meet and perform for soldiers, families of hostages and wounded civilians. He turned the experience into “Song of Ascent,” a concert documentary directed by Shlomo Weprin. It was filmed over two trips to Israel, where Matisyahu visited the site of the Nova Music Festival, walking through several devastated kibbutzim, and met survivors who lit memorial candles for the murdered. The film also captured the contrast between his time in Israel and his U.S. tour, where several shows were canceled amid protests — what he called a “cultural storm.”

“Hopefully it’s just a voice that my experience is similar to a lot of people’s experience — a lot of Jews after Oct. 7, and our connection with Israel and our struggle in America,” Matisyahu told The Journal. “We just documented that time period, and I think people will find some sense of hope and strength in it.”

FIVE FOR FIGHTING — JOHN ONDRASIK

John Ondrasik, who performs as Five for Fighting, is a UCLA alumnus who isn’t Jewish. Still, since Oct. 7, he has written, recorded and performed songs framing the massacre and hostage crisis as a test of conscience for the entire arts community.

In early 2024, he released a protest song, “OK (We Are Not OK)”; the song’s video juxtaposing footage from the Nova Festival and pro-Hamas rallies with his refrain, “This is a time for choosing.” “I’m just a guy who sees evil and doesn’t like it,” Ondrasik said. “We all have a role to play.”

For him, that role includes education. “We’re going to go to these schools, we’re going to support the Jewish kids — UCLA, USC. Nobody’s going to wear a mask or chant to anybody,” he said at the American Jewish Committee’s annual Kaufman Family Annual Meeting in June 2024. “The arts is how we win. The arts is how we fight this battle.”

Earlier this year, Ondrasik rerecorded his 2001 hit “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” as a tribute to Israeli hostage Alon Ohel, changing one lyric from “Find a way to lie, ’bout a home I’ll never see” to “Find a way to fly, to a home I will soon see.” He told The Journal that, “The boundless spiritual fortitude of the hostages and their families is beyond words … It felt right to change the lyric, to remind the world they are still there.”

When asked what drives him, he put it plainly: “It’s not just about being pro-Israel — it’s pro-civilization.”

SCOOTER BRAUN

No music executive has leveraged his influence more directly than Scooter Braun. Known for managing Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Demi Lovato, he is one of the few figures whose actions can bring music into global conversation.

Braun had experience with a music-world terror attack before.

“When Manchester happened,” he said, referring to the 2017 terrorist bombing at an Ariana Grande concert, “the whole world rallied. Here, the world abandoned them,” Braun said. He was 2.5 hours away in London at the time of the attack, and headed to Manchester as soon as he learned of the horrifying news. “This was never about politics. It was about humanity. Two things can be true. I should mourn for your family in Gaza the same way you mourn for these people.”

Braun helped bring “The Nova Music Festival Exhibition: October 7th, 06:29 a.m. — The Moment Music Stood Still” to New York and Los Angeles. It has since had installations in Miami, Washington, D.C., Toronto, and Boston.

The exhibit recreated the festival grounds near Re’im.

“Here I was standing in front of these kids [at the site] where over 400 were killed, and no one was saying anything … This is about seeing your daughter, your mother, your friends and speaking to others and demanding they see this,” Braun told The Journal.

In Los Angeles, the exhibit became a rallying point. Braun organized a vigil for six slain hostages found in Gaza. As the one-year mark of the attacks approached, the Nova Exhibit evolved into both a memorial and a meeting space for communal healing.

What also mattered was who Braun brought with him. Celebrities who might have otherwise stayed quiet — Cindy Crawford, Usher, Sia, Octavia Spencer, Kristen Bell, Jessica Alba, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, Sharon Osbourne, Will Ferrell and others — visited the exhibit. Even brief news stories about these visits put a spotlight on the tragedy that for so many was ignored or forgotten. Over its four-month run in Los Angeles, the Nova Exhibition drew more than 170,000 visitors. Schools across Los Angeles sent students, teachers and superintendents to see the installation.

At the Anti-Defamation League’s annual concert later that year, Braun spoke again:

“Innocent people dying at a music event is wrong,” he said. “These Nova survivors have given me the greatest gift … Something shifted since Oct. 7. They live by this mantra: ‘We will dance again.’ So I hope you’ll understand I’m done saying the negatives. I want to say again and again… we will be strong again. We will be proud again. We will dance again and again and again.”

DAVID FISHOF

The producer behind Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp — the program that pairs musically-inclined fans with rockstars for weekend jam sessions — is doing all he can with all the musicians he’s befriended over the years. The son of a Holocaust survivor and cantor, Fishof has long viewed music as a vehicle for connection. In early 2024, he invited 10 Israeli musicians affected by Oct. 7 to Los Angeles for a special camp session. The group included Nova Festival survivor Raz Shifer, reserve soldier Dov Engel, and Bar Rudaeff, whose father — a Magen David Adom volunteer — was later confirmed murdered in Gaza.

“I think the biggest issue we Jews have in America is what can we do? We all want to do something,” Fishof told The Journal. “So for me, I was able to do something.”

He didn’t tell campers or counselors about the Israeli guests, worried one might object. “I just needed one guy to say, ‘I didn’t pay money to come to a camp with a bunch of Israelis,’” Fishof said. “I was prepared to refund him and send him home.” Instead, when he introduced them on day one as “my heroes,” the campers gave a standing ovation.

One non-Jewish band in the camp renamed itself Tzuri — Hebrew for “Rock.”

Fishof said 85% of campers were not Jewish, and many had never met an Israeli before. “Do you use Waze? Do you use WhatsApp? Do you use Wix?” Fishof asked. “This all comes from Israel.”

After visiting Auschwitz months earlier, he saw the mission in personal terms. “The guy giving the tour was comparing Auschwitz to Oct. 7,” Fishof said. “It was smaller, but it was Auschwitz. I heard those stories from my father. But now to be able to do something — that’s why it was great.”

The Los Angeles camp, which ended March 17, 2024, became, in Fishof’s words, “the greatest one we ever did.” That camp featured jams with Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, as well as Warren DeMartini — guitarist for glam metal band Ratt. Singer Sebastian Bach (formerly of Skid Row) wore dog tags in honor of the hostages when performing with campers at the Whisky A Go Go.

Fishof will soon release a documentary about how helping Israelis heal with music is the “greatest, proudest accomplishment” of his music business career.

“None of it matters to me,” Fishof said. “I’m a Jew first. That’s the most important. But to be able to do something like that … I felt good when I did it.”

EUROVISION: ISRAEL TAKES THE HIGH ROAD

In 2024, Eurovision became appointment viewing in Jewish homes across the United States. The annual contest — a major event for all of Europe but not on the radar for music lovers in the U.S. — turned into the most positive week of social media posts amongst the Jewish people in the seven months since the attacks. In both years, following the performances of Eden Golan in 2024 and Yuval Raphael in 2025, a sense of pride and joy washed over the people in the Jewish community, who paid attention like it was “American Idol” Season 1.

Both Golan and Raphael were proudly Israeli and outspoken against antisemitism, but what made their presence historic was the timing — two talented musical artists, each barely in their 20s, standing on one of the world’s largest stages as the faces of a nation under siege. They both needed head-of-state level security to and from the Eurovision venues due to the outrage against Israel’s participation in the event. Still, they each took the high road, and even made friends backstage with some of the other performers. Golan’s “Hurricane” and Raphael’s “New Day Will Rise” are now considered anthems of resilience for Israel and Jews around the world.

Both singers finished in the top five through massive public voting support — from some of Europe’s largest countries, as well as votes from countries with miniscule Jewish populations. That result spoke for itself: audiences responded to the music, not the noise surrounding it.

In the process, Eurovision became an unexpected arena for pride in Jewish communities around the world. Golan and Raphael were thrust into the role of accidental ambassadors — untrained diplomats whose voices carried Israel’s heart and pain to millions of viewers. As of fall 2025, the debate still hasn’t quieted. There are still calls for Israel to be excluded from Eurovision in 2026. But German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that if Israel is banned from Eurovision, Germany will pull out (and take their 80 million citizens with them).

RED CARPET FRONTLINES

As political messaging seeped into awards season, some artists used the world’s biggest stages to turn performance into protest. At red carpets and televised ceremonies, “Artists4Ceasefire” pins, keffiyeh scarves and watermelon accessories became cultural battlegrounds. A handful of Jewish and pro-Israel figures answered in their own way.

Montana Tucker, the pop artist and influencer with millions of followers, has made Holocaust education and Jewish pride the center of her public life. In 2022, she created the ten-part docuseries “How To: Never Forget,” retracing her grandmother Lilly’s survival at Auschwitz. “A lot of people my age and younger don’t even know what Auschwitz is,” Tucker said. “Education is the only way we can stop history from repeating itself.”

Since then, she’s used her social media presence — TikTok, Instagram, and beyond — to reach younger audiences who might never otherwise encounter Holocaust history. “I realized how important it is to use my platform for something bigger than myself,” she said. Her partnerships with the Claims Conference and USC Shoah Foundation helped bring those lessons into classrooms and public spaces across the country.

After Oct. 7, Tucker shifted from remembrance to advocacy. “People are scared to say they’re Jewish right now. I want them to be proud,” she said. At the 2024 Grammys, Tucker walked the red carpet in a dress designed by Israeli fashion house MadeByILA, featuring a large yellow ribbon reading “Bring Them Home” — a reference to the hostages held in Gaza. Since then, she has continued using her platform for Holocaust and Israel awareness, later producing “The Children of October 7,” a documentary featuring young survivors who witnessed atrocities firsthand. Each of her public appearances — from film premieres to award shows — became a statement of Jewish pride and solidarity amid an industry often uneasy about Israel.

“You don’t have to be Jewish to stand up against antisemitism,” Tucker said. “Social media can spread hate — but it can also spread truth.”

Also at the 2024 Grammy ceremony, Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy and a past honoree of CCFP, used his appearance to reaffirm music’s role as a universal connector. Listing terror attacks that had targeted concertgoers — from Paris to Manchester to Las Vegas — he included the massacre at Israel’s Nova Music Festival.

“Every one of us, no matter where we’re from, is united by the shared experience of music,” he said. “It brings us together like nothing else can, and that’s why music must always be our safe space.”

He then introduced a string quartet composed of Palestinian, Israeli, and Arab musicians.

Sixteen-time Academy Award-nominated songwriter Diane Warren — another past honoree of CCFP’s Ambassador of Peace award — has remained outspoken. “Anything that has to do with Jewish people and is good means a lot to me,” Warren said. “It’s scary right now. You don’t think there needs to be armed guards at a synagogue in 2023.” She signed multiple CCFP open letters defending artistic freedom, supporting Israel’s inclusion in the Eurovision Song Contest and calling for compassion for all civilians while rejecting cultural boycotts. “Music and art is healing,” she said. “We’re Jews — we push on, we fight on.”

At the ADL’s 2024 Concert Against Hate in Washington, D.C., pop star Sia dedicated the song “Titanium” to survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre, saying, “We will dance again,” as survivors joined her on stage. In New York, the Moscow-born singer/songwriter Regina Spektor wrote on social media on the day of the Oct. 7 attacks, “Killing Jews isn’t fighting for human rights. It never will be. It’s just murder. Love must prevail. Peace must prevail. Hope is always with us.”

At CCFP’s 2025 gala, KISS’ Simmons told reporters, “Jewish self-hatred is at an all-time high, which is astonishing. And I fully support the ‘they/them’ community, the Queers for Gaza, but they’re not informed. If you’re queer in Gaza you’re going to be ‘was/were.’ You’re going to be thrown off a building. Education is important.”

At the same event, Mellencamp took the stage to introduce Universal Music’s Bruce Resnikoff for an award and declared, “And to the Jewish haters, I say, f— you! Yeah, you need to open your eyes and remember the Golden Rule: What is hateful to you, do not do to others, and try to learn that ignorance is not a virtue.”

Before he passed away in July 2025, legendary Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon signed several open letters by CCFP supporting Israel after the Oct. 7 attacks. During the Nova Exhibit’s run in Los Angeles, Sharon frequently visited and spoke with survivors who were present to share their trauma.

A QUIETER CHORUS

It is not all sunshine and solidarity. But two years on, it’s important to look back at the horrific week of the Oct. 7 attacks and remember which music superstars publicly acknowledged the pain of the Jewish people. Regardless of what they’ve said since, their words then still hold value in the fight against antisemitism and using music to spread peace.

The blog IsraellyCool kept a scrapbook of screenshots from celebrities who publicly posted support within 24 hours of the Oct 7 attacks. Culture Club’s lead singer Boy George said, “When you hurt women, children and the elderly your cause is doomed. I stand with Israel.” Sara Bareilles wrote, “Now and always we stand with the people of Israel.” Others whose posts are archived on the blog include Josh Gad, Barbra Streisand, Justin Bieber, Samantha Ronson, and Jack Black.

On Oct. 12, 2023, CCFP circulated an open letter that called on the “global entertainment community” to “support artistic freedom and condemn the targeting of civilians.” Notable signers included Dee Snyder (Twisted Sister), John Fogerty (Credence Clearwater Revival), Peter Frampton, AJ McLean (Backstreet Boys), Ziggy Marley, Jason Derulo, Josh Groban and KISS’ Paul Stanley.

On Oct. 24, 2023, hundreds of entertainers signed a “No Hostages Left Behind” open letter to then President Biden thanking him for “unshakable moral conviction, leadership and support for the Jewish people, who have been terrorized by Hamas … and for the Palestinians, who have also been terrorized.” The letter also called for “freedom for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace … and most urgently, freedom for the hostages.” Signers included Lana Del Rey, Madonna, Chris Jericho, Justin Timberlake, Lea Michele and Lance Bass.

From short posts to full letters, these artists publicly recognized antisemitism for what it was — even briefly — when silence was the safer option.

During Irish band U2’s 40-show residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Bono paused during a performance of “Pride (In the Name of Love)” to honor the Israeli concertgoers killed at the Nova Music Festival. “In the light of what’s happened in Israel and Gaza, a song about nonviolence seems somewhat ridiculous, even laughable,” he told the silent crowd. It was only the fifth show ever at Las Vegas’ new Sphere concert venue. “But our prayers have always been for peace and for nonviolence. But our hearts and our anger, you know where that’s pointed. So sing with us … and those beautiful kids at that music festival.” Then, as the band launched into the song, Bono altered the lyrics: “Early morning, Oct. 7, the sun is rising in the desert sky. Stars of David, they took your life but they could not take your pride.” Brandi Carlile, who was in the audience that night, said “Antisemitism is WAY too comfortable for people even in this country and I condemn it with my entire heart.”

Mere weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks, Pink, said “Any violence or hate-filled demonstrations taking place around the world are making the problem worse, not better.” Rush’s Geddy Lee said, “it was important to express the pain we were feeling watching this, what could be arguably called one of the worst massacres since World War II of the Jewish people.”

Throughout this year, there were still rockers in the music world taking a stand with Jewish people in peril and speaking out against boycotts. Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) and Israeli singer Dudu Tassa said in May 2025, “Intimidating venues into pulling our shows won’t help achieve the peace and justice everyone in the Middle East deserves.”  Smash Mouth’s Zach Goode was harangued by the anti-Israel Instagram account Zionists In Music for stating his solidarity with fellow Jews in a comment thread: “It’s a war. Kinda have to pick a side. … One side wants us dead.” In 2025, Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath advocated for peace and specifically called for the hostages to be returned home: “I am part of the chorus of voices calling for an immediate ceasefire and release of all hostages. One life is one too many.”

After the last 20 hostages were released back to Israel on Oct. 13, Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) frontman M. Shadows showed how compassion could still cut through division. The band’s Israeli fan community on X had reached out to let them know that two of the freed hostages, Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David, were longtime A7X fans who had been abducted from the Nova Festival. Shadows recorded a private video welcoming them home: “We’ve been following the story closely. We knew you guys were devoted A7X fans and we appreciate it so much. The things you guys have been through, it’s just unspeakable, terrible … hopefully we see you guys soon.”

Shadows later gave permission for the video to be shared publicly, saying, “If you think it would help, of course I’ll do it. We wanted to give them some sort of reprieve, some sort of relief or some sort of joy.” When some accused him of taking sides, Shadows told Rolling Stone, “It’s not something that I’m going to worry about; I know that it’s the right thing to do. I think you have to stick to your moral compass. To me, that video is just a human doing something for another human. It’s not making a political stance. It’s not sticking it in someone’s eye. It really is about two human beings that have been through hell. And if we can’t agree on that, it’s really hard to agree on anything.” He said the gesture came from grief, not ideology — two Israeli women the band befriended were murdered at the Nova festival.

Shadows said he respected Draiman “not just for where he stands, but that he believes in something and he’s full-force into it.”

The war’s politics will keep shifting, but what these artists did will outlast it. They sang, they showed up, they refused to stay silent. And for the people who lost everything that morning in the desert, that still matters. Because in moments when the world feels impossible to reach, it’s the people who make us dance who are often the best at helping us gain allies — the righteous among the rockers. As Draiman said, “if there’s anything that can save the world, it’s the right f—ing music at the right time. Sometimes darkness can show you the light.”

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Mellencamp performed and got off the night’s most pointed line: “And to the Jewish haters, I say f—k you.”

By Paul Grein

More than 550 entertainment industry leaders gathered in Los Angeles on Sunday (Oct. 19) for Creative Community for Peace’s (CCFP) seventh annual Ambassadors of Peace gala to promote dialogue and unity through the arts. The event was held at the Beverly Park residence of Haim Saban, chairman and CEO of Saban Capital Group.

This year’s honorees were Bruce Resnikoff, president/CEO of Universal Music Enterprises; Jonathan Strauss, CEO of Create Music Group; David Kohan, showrunner and executive producer of Will & Grace and Mid-Century Modern; his wife, Blair Kohan, partner and board member at United Talent Agency; and actor Jerry O’Connell.

The event featured a performance by John Mellencamp, who said, “I don’t like to call it antisemitism. It’s too polite a word for what it really is. Hatred is what it really is. And I may just be a guy with a guitar and sing some songs, but I promise this to the Jewish people: I will remain a staunch ally to you guys as long as I’m on this earth. And to the Jewish haters, I say f—k you.”

“In order to make a difference, sometimes we need to get out of our comfort zone, and that’s what I’m doing tonight,” Resnikoff said. “In the Jewish community, especially during an epidemic of undeniable and widespread antisemitism, we will always need more voices, and particularly in the music industry. CCFP brings caring people together to help amplify our voices, and I’m proud to do my part tonight.”

Strauss added, “Great companies and great cultures are not built in an echo chamber. Disagreement doesn’t mean division; it means engagement. And there’s nothing worse than apathy.”

CCFP chairman and co-founder David Renzer opened the event and said, “We have to push back. We have to educate. We believe in coexistence. We believe in the power of music and arts and culture to help build bridges and that it should not be shut down.”

Ari Ingel, CCFP executive director, added, “Jewish pride means knowing where we come from and taking control of where we are going. It means speaking Hebrew with joy, wearing your Magen David in the open, loving Israel, not with blind nationalism, but with eyes wide open, with commitment, with critique and care.”

Among those paying tribute to this year’s honorees were Ringo Starr, Def Leppard, Paul Rudd, Nick Kroll, Rebecca Romijn, Howie Mandel, Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing, Greg Berlanti, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.

Artists and entertainment leaders in attendance included Gene Simmons of KISS; Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records; Gary Barber, co-founder Spyglass Media Group; Suzanne de Passe, co-chairwoman of de Passe Jones Entertainment Group; Jody Gerson, CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group; Jacqueline Saturn, president of Virgin Music; Michael Rotenberg, founder and partner at 3 Arts Entertainment; David Zedeck, global co-head of Music at UTA; Jacob Fenton, UTA partner; Larry Rudolph, founder and CEO of 724 Entertainment; and Phylicia Fant, global head of music industry & culture collaborations at Amazon Music.

Previous Ambassador of Peace honorees include Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr., Grammy-winning songwriter Diane Warren, reggae star Ziggy Marley, music mogul Scooter Braun, chairman & CEO of Sony Music Latin America Afo Verde, and CEO and co-chairman of Warner Records Aaron Bay-Schuck.

More information on Ambassadors of Peace can be found on the event’s website.

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“We call on TIFF to reverse its decision and stand for the principles it claims to uphold,” the Creative Community for Peace says of “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue”

By: JD Knapp August 13, 2025

The Toronto International Film Festival rescinded its invitation to screen Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich’s “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” documentary about the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, according to media reports.

“The invitation for the Canadian documentary film ‘The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue’ was withdrawn by TIFF because general requirements for inclusion in the Festival, and conditions that were requested when the film was initially invited, were not met, including legal clearance of all footage,” TIFF said in a Wednesday statement to Screen Daily.

“First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere apologies for any pain this situation may have caused,” TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said in a statement Wednesday. “It was never my intention to offend or alienate anyone. At TIFF, we believe in the transformative power of film to foster understanding and dialogue, especially during challenging times. ”

It continued: “My intention was to screen ‘The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,’ which is why I extended the invitation for the film to participate in this year’s festival. Given the sensitive and significant nature of the film’s subject, I believe that it tells an important story and contributes to the rich tapestry of perspectives in our lineup – stories that resonate both here at home and around the world.  I want to be clear: claims that the film was rejected due to censorship are unequivocally false. I remain committed to working with the filmmaker to meet TIFF’s screening requirements to allow the film to be screened at this year’s festival. I have asked our legal team to work with the filmmaker on considering all options available.”

“The Road Between Us” was notably not featured in the initial 2025 documentary line-up for next month’s festival. The film follows retired Israel Defense Forces General Noam Tibon as he tries to save his two granddaughters from the 2023 terrorist attacks, helping multiple survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre and wounded IDF soldiers in the process.

“We are shocked and saddened that a venerable film festival has defied its mission and censored its own programming by refusing this film,” the filmmakers told Deadline on Tuesday. “Ultimately, film is an art form that stimulates debate from every perspective that can both entertain us and make us uncomfortable. A film festival lays out the feast and the audience decides what they will or won’t see. We are not political filmmakers, nor are we activists; we are storytellers. We remain defiant, we will release the film and we invite audiences, broadcasters and streamers to make up their own mind, once they have seen it.”

In response, the Creative Community for Peace issued the following statement, urging TIFF to reverse its decision:

“This decision is part of a growing trend of silencing Jewish and Israeli voices under the excuse of ‘security concerns.’ Rather than standing up to violent intimidation and protecting filmmakers, TIFF is rewarding those who threaten their lives. TIFF’s claim that the issue is ‘clearance’ for Hamas-filmed footage is absurd. Does anyone believe Hamas would authorize use of evidence of its own war crimes? This is a pretext to bow to threats, protecting those who make them rather than those targeted by them.”

“By silencing this film, TIFF abandons artistic freedom and sends the chilling message that some victims’ stories matter more than others. We call on TIFF to reverse its decision and stand for the principles it claims to uphold: artistic freedom, courage and the right for every story to be told.”

TheWrap has reached out to TIFF for further comment.

The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival is set to run Sept. 4-14.

Read the original article here.

The organization has spent the last 21 months pushing back against misinformation, disinformation, and intimidation as anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism continue to take center stage.

By: KELLY HARTOG

JULY 13, 2025 05:17

LOS ANGELES –  Long before British punk rock act Bob Vylan took to the stage at Glastonbury in the UK and led thousands of festival attendees in rousing chants of “Death, Death, to the IDF,” the Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) staff was on the case. The blatant death threats and calls to violence, which were amplified by Irish rappers Kneecap, who also whipped the crowd into a frenzy, chanting “Free Palestine” while waving a Hezbollah flag, shocked Israelis and Jews across the world. Kneecap had already garnered headlines back in April after performing at Coachella in Southern California, where it projected on a screen: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is being enabled by the US government, who arms and funds Israel despite their war crimes. F*** Israel; free Palestine.”

The realities of terror support in the arts

Ari Ingel, executive director of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit CCFP, however, remained unsurprised. CCFP comprises prominent members of the entertainment community who promote the arts as a bridge to peace, educate about rising antisemitism in the industry, and galvanize support against the cultural boycott of Israel. Ingel and his team had warned festival organizers for months about both groups.

“We knew about Kneecap’s support for Hamas and Hezbollah as far back as February,” Ingel told The Jerusalem Post. “We contacted venues. We even reached out to Coachella and Glastonbury. Our warnings were ignored.” Despite this, CCFP’s covert actions successfully led to Kneecap’s US visa cancellation following their Coachella appearance, and their actions further led to Kneecap’s agency and Bob Vylan’s management severing ties. “We don’t want to stifle expression,” Ingel explains, “but when artists cross the line into supporting terrorist groups or inciting violence, there must be consequences.”

CCFP was founded in 2012 by Universal Music’s David Renzer and Worldwide Executive and President of Music for Electronic Arts (EA) Steve Schnur. The early focus was on combating boycotts of artists who performed in Israel. At the time, global musicians were inundated with pressure to cancel shows. “There was no balance in the discourse,” Ingel says. “Artists were being harassed into canceling without understanding what they were being asked to support.”

Over the past 13 years, CCFP has expanded its mission to include educating industry professionals about antisemitism, building bridges between Jewish and other communities, and countering the broader cultural boycott of Israel. “What makes us different is that we’re insiders,” Ingel shares. “This industry only listens to people it knows and trusts. That’s why we’ve built a peer-to-peer model. “The nonprofit’s advisory board helps make that happen. Its board members include top-tier industry figures, including the CEO of Warner Music, the president of Virgin Records, and the former CEO of Paramount Pictures. “It gives us access,” says Ingel. “When issues come up, we know who to call. ”CCFP also knows how to get things done quietly behind the scenes.

“We’re not in the game chasing headlines,” Ingel said. “We’re about impact.” That impact quietly affected the set of the hit ABC Network show, Grey’s Anatomy. In 2023, actor Jesse Williams, who played popular doctor Jackson Avery, publicly posted antisemitic statements on his social media. Despite leaving Grey’s Anatomy officially in 2021, the show planned for Williams to direct several episodes in 2023. When studio HR departments failed to respond to complaints, CCFP stepped in. “We reached out to ABC leadership directly,” Ingel shares, noting that many crew and cast were uncomfortable with Williams’ statements. “They weren’t even aware of what was happening, but they took it seriously and addressed it immediately.”

CCFP also worked quietly behind the scenes after music legend Roger Waters ramped up his antisemitic statements and imagery at his concerts. “We went directly to Bertelsmann, the parent company of his publisher, BMG,” Ingel says. “They ended their relationship with him and adopted the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism company-wide. “Beyond addressing issues connected to famous industry names, CCFP continues to fight cultural boycotts of Israeli artists and institutions. “It happens at festivals, in literary circles, and even at LGBTQ film events,” Ingel says. “When filmmakers were pressured to pull out of the [2022] Tel Aviv LGBTQ festival, CCFP rallied support from the likes of Sia, Billy Porter, and Zachary Quinto. Since then, not a single filmmaker has pulled out.”

CCFP also played a key role in defending Israel’s participation in Eurovision and resisting efforts to ban it from international sporting events like the World Cup. “We’re the counterbalance,” says Ingel. “We’re here to make sure there’s always another voice in the room. “However, the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre changed everything for the organization, forcing it more into the spotlight. “We knew the initial goodwill toward Israel wouldn’t last,” says Ingel. Indeed, five days after the attack, CCFP released a landmark open letter, signed by over 1,000 industry names (not all Jewish), including Gal Gadot, Helen Mirren, Amy Schumer, and Antoine Fuqua.

The letter condemned the massacre, demanded the release of hostages, and cautioned against spreading misinformation. Then, at the end of October 2023, CCFP launched its #Releasethehostages campaign, where 229 celebrities simultaneously posted about individual hostages. The viral campaign was designed to leverage entertainment leaders’ social media audiences to galvanize international support for the hostages and their families and ultimately to expedite their release from captivity. “People like Zooey Deschanel and Mandy Moore – who had said nothing before – spoke out,” Ingel notes. “Collective action gave them courage.” The organization also arranged trips for celebrities to witness the tragedy firsthand. Debra Messing traveled to Israel months after the attacks, and CCFP also facilitated private forums with hostage families and organized viewings of the Nova exhibit.

Ingel believes that CCFP’s success in an industry renowned for avoiding being seen as pro-Israel is because it is not a traditional pro-Israel PR group. “We don’t do hasbara,” he says. “We are insiders working with other insiders.”

“There’s a perception that Hollywood and the music industry are anti-Israel,” he says, but adds, “that’s not entirely true. Most people just don’t want to get involved. And then there are the quiet supporters who are afraid to speak out. “CCFP, he says, provides a space for those supporters through both dialogue and action. “Post-October 7, we saw a surge. We call them ‘October 8 Jews’– people who always knew they were Jewish but suddenly felt it in a new way, and they were alone. They turned to us.

“The organization has spent the last 21 months pushing back against misinformation, disinformation, and intimidation as anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism continue to take center stage.

Those efforts have included everything from coordinating open letters and hosting private events to working directly with decision makers, much of which remains invisible. It is precisely this, though, that fuels their success. “If you’re asking how we measure success, it’s not by headlines,” Ingel says. “It’s in the calls that get answered, the events that go on without a problem, and the silent majority who step up and say, ‘I’m with you.’”

Read the original article here.

The Creative Community For Peace letter calls for the end to “lies designed to demonize Israel and the Jewish people.”

Nearly 400+ people in the entertainment industry signed an open letter calling for “a rejection of extremist rhetoric and the spread of misinformation.” 

The Creative Community For Peace (CCFP) released a letter signed by hundreds of creatives calling for an end to “lies and antisemitic incitement” in the fallout of the Israel-Hamas War. 

“Hamas, Iran, and their allies and ideological sympathizers in the West have flooded the world with their hateful lies and antisemitic incitement since October 7 — lies designed to demonize Israel, the Jewish people, and their supporters,” the text of the letter reads. 

Some of the signatories included Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing, Sharon Osbourne, Jerry O’Connell, Patricia Heaton, and Uzo Aduba.

Anti-Zionist protests affect Jewish lives

The letter went on to note the effects of the war, noting the shooting of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC earlier this month. It also stated that the signatories believed that many people in Hollywood had been “manipulated by the constant stream of misinformation.”

The CCFP letter noted that the signatories believed that recent waves of anti-Zionist and anti-Israel protests directly endangered Jews around the world. 

“We reject the anti-Israel movement co-opting every social justice cause — outrageously claiming that to stand with the LGBTQIA+ community, or with anti-racist, anti-colonialist, anti-Islamophobic and anti-antisemitic movements, is to stand against Israel,” the statement read. 

Read the original article here.

Organizers were reportedly blindsided by the hip-hop trio’s “Fuck Israel” display – but one advocacy group says it sounded the alarm days in advance

Coachella organizers were warned in advance by multiple people that the Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap would take an aggressive anti-Israel stance when they were booked at the festival but failed to act, according to music industry insiders who spoke to TheWrap after “Fuck Israel” messages and chanting dominated the group’s act last weekend.

“Goldenvoice and AEG are claiming they were blindsided by the band and had no clue,” Ari Ingel, executive director of pro-Israel entertainment nonprofit Creative Community for Peace, told The Wrap on Tuesday. “This is a lie. They knew, and they refused to act.”

The concert organizer Goldenvoice and its owner AEG did not return multiple attempts by TheWrap to respond.

Kneecap kicked up a “Free Palestine” chant during the festival’s second weekend along with shouts of “Fuck Israel” and other antisemitic messaging projected onstage, to raucous chanting by the crowd. Festival organizers have yet to comment on the display, but reportedly said privately that they were “blindsided.”

The naked antisemitism of the moment at a music festival – with echoes of the Nova Music Festival massacre by Hamas still ringing in the air – has divided the music industry and roiled Jewish advocacy groups.

Ingel said he emailed Goldenvoice and AEG executives on April 13 and again April 15, according to an internal communication to his nonprofit’s advisory board obtained by TheWrap. Emails were sent to Goldenvoice CEO and president Paul Tollett, AEG/Goldenvoice COO Melissa Ormond and Goldenvoice owner and COO Jay Marciano, alerting them that the political provocateurs from West Belfast would bring what it called their strident pro-Hezbollah and pro-Hamas messages to the festival stage.

“You had a band here that is an extremist band that supports Hezbollah and Hamas that whipped this crowd of thousands into an anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, antisemitic frenzy at a music festival that could have led to who knows what,” Ingel told TheWrap. “Say there was some young kid with a Star of David on his neck. Could that kid have gotten beat up and lynched?”

Some uncensored messaging to Coachella 🤝🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/WbHZBrCZl5

— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 19, 2025

A representative for Kneecap did not respond to TheWrap’s outreach. The band has been known to support the ideology of terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah in the past, including the attacks of October 7, 2023.

In addition to his work at CCFP, Ingel is an entertainment attorney and music manager. Other music industry insiders were similarly critical of AEG and Goldenvoice.

A veteran music manager who didn’t want to be identified told TheWrap: “It was a bad f—king booking. AEG didn’t have to be geniuses to know if you book this group they’ll support Hamas. If you book Pussy Riot you should expect them to say something critical of Putin.”

Yet another music industry insider said they were in touch with AEG ahead of the festival, and also warned them about Kneecap: “We said this is going to be a disaster. They’ll do something crazy – and of course they did. Maybe he [Tollett] was naïve, but they f–ked up.”

The performance sent shockwaves through Jewish advocacy groups, including the Brigade, a community of PR executives fighting against antisemitism in entertainment.

“It is one thing for artists to use their stages to protest war and express free speech, but quite another to promote hate – and at Coachella, which is billed as a haven for inclusivity and peace,” the group said in an exclusive statement to TheWrap. “Perhaps AEG/Goldenvoice have already forgotten Nova, the site of the largest music festival massacre. And your silence AEG, it’s almost as triggering as the terror fueled display you enabled. Many in the audience and beyond cannot afford the luxury of forgetting.”

The band’s live feed was cut during the first weekend due to extreme remarks about Margaret Thatcher and offensive on-screen anti-Israel statements. After that, Ingel said he and CCFP colleagues reached out again, laying out “who this band was, what they stood for, what they were planning” and urged the higher ups to cancel their performance or ensure that it would not turn into a spectacle for hate and violent speech. They received no response, he said.

Surprisingly, Tollett, one of the co-founders of Coachella, recently visited a Los Angeles exhibit memorializing Nova, the trance music festival held in southern Israel that was attacked on Oct. 7, 2023 by Hamas militants. An estimated 380 attendees – mostly young people who had gathered to dance – were slaughtered. The meeting was said to be a poignant moment, as Tollett made the connection between the Hamas terror attack and his own music gathering.

Nova issued a statement reacting to the Kneecap performance – as well as the ongoing silence from Coachella’s leaders:

“When our exhibit first came to Los Angeles, the founder of Coachella himself, Paul Tollett, was one of our first visitors. He did not know our story, but after witnessing, he saw his own humanity and his own festival within ours. He sat with us, cried with us, and advocated for us. Today we will do the same for him. Coachella like Nova is a place of love.”

The Nova exhibit was a project of superstar producer and manager Scooter Braun, who defended Tollett, a personal friend, writing Sunday in an Instagram post: “Let’s not lose sight of who this man is, and let us stand with him in this moment when a group, without his knowing, took advantage of his festival and created hate in a place that’s filled with love.”

Ingel called Braun’s post out-of-bounds.

“While I appreciate Scooter’s sentiment and sticking up for his friend — sadly, and unfortunately —  it’s misguided,” Ingel said. “Paul and Jay Marciano — along with Melissa — were all briefed by me and CCFP about who Kneecap was, what they stood for, their affinity for terrorist groups and their plans to do a stunt like this. Those warnings were totally ignored. Silence.”

Kneecap took the stage Saturday as the words “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people” appeared above them. Other messages included “Fuck Israel” and “Free Palestine.” Later in the set, rapper and singer Mo Chara, known for his flow between Irish and English languages, led the crowd in a “Free Palestine” chant.

There were other warnings of trouble ahead, including during Kneecap’s first-weekend performance. The Times of Israel reported that the band’s livestream was cut off over its messaging – including a screed against the late Margaret Thatcher. After posting on X that it wouldn’t happen again, Kneecap made sure to capture and post images and video of last weekend’s performance.

Mo chara speaking to thousands of Americans at coachella.

The young people of America don’t support genocide, get out on the streets and show this to that cunt Trump. 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/fExyAn7GA6

— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 19, 2025

“Coachella understood that from weekend one – and still allowed it for weekend two,” Ingel said. “The only reason I can come up with is that they were scared of the backlash they may face from the anti-Israel community, and they were more scared of that than they were scared of what the pro-Israel and Jewish communities would think.”

It wasn’t clear whether any of Saturday’s performance came through Coachella’s livestream, but leftist social media influencer Hasan Piker joined the band onstage and streamed to his own Twitch channel with nearly 3 million followers. The band also posted several of its most strident on-stage messages on its X account.

Ingel said his nonprofit continues to track Kneecap as they prepare for summer tour season, with nearly two-dozen dates booked in the U.S. and beyond.

Our October US/Canada tour will see us joined by the brilliant Bricknasty on support for all shows 🔥

Only two dates with a handful of tickets left pic.twitter.com/KI1wbT7c0z

— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 22, 2025

Sharon Waxman and Tess Patton contributed to reporting of this story.

Cover Phot: Getty Images – Credit: Emma McIntyre / Stringer

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The documentary contrasts the hardships that Basal Adra faces as a Palestinian with Yuval Abraham’s “freedom and security” as an Israeli, conveniently ignoring that Israelis have been subjected to relentless terror campaigns for decades.

By: Ari Ingel

“No Other Land” won the Oscar for Best Documentary. 

But does it present an accurate picture of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Not quite. 

“No Other Land” is a 2024 Palestinian documentary co-directed by a group of Israeli and Palestinian activists. 

The widely acclaimed film deals with the evictions of Palestinians from the area of Masafer Yatta in the West Bank, interweaving the stories of Palestinian activist Basal Adra and his friend Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist. 

Though Palestinians claim to have lived in Masafer Yatta “for centuries” – or even longer – the historical facts on the ground are much different.

Neither Ottoman nor British documents show any permanent Palestinian-Arab communities in Masafer Yatta. 

Likewise, aerial photos from the 1980s don’t show any permanent Palestinian structures. 

In fact, Masafer Yatta has been designated a military zone since 1981. 

As part of Area C of the West Bank, Israel has the right to exercise full military and civil control of Masafer Yatta, as agreed upon by the Israelis and Palestinians during the Oslo Accords in the 1990s. 

After a lengthy court case, in a unanimous decision from Israel’s Supreme Court, it found dating back to the 1980’s that there was neither evidence of any freestanding structures that would indicate a permanent Palestinian presence there, nor any “permanent dwellings” in the region. 

The court also noted that the Palestinian petitioners rejected any attempted compromise offered to them.

One rarely discussed issue is that just as the settler movement has been trying to create facts on the ground in Area C of the West Bank, the Palestinians too, with the help of Europeans, have been also trying to create facts on the ground by building illegally, for many decades now. 

“No Other Land” also completely decontextualizes the actions that Israel carries out in the West Bank. 

For example, it does not address the Israeli security concerns that led Israel to designate Masafer Yatta a military zone. 

Because Masafer Yatta is used for firing exercises, illegally built Palestinian structures – which, again, were built after the area was designated a military zone – pose a risk to the lives of civilians. 

“No Other Land” also presents the Palestinian residents of Masafer Yatta, and the West Bank in general, as victims of Israeli aggression. 

And while it’s true that many Palestinians have been victimized during the conflict, the film ignores the many, many times that Palestinians have carried out actions that have heightened tensions in the conflict: namely, Palestinian terrorism that informs virtually all Israeli policies in the West Bank. 

In fact, some of the most recent deadly attacks against Israelis have come from the nearby city of Yatta, including the Sarona Market massacre (2016), where two terrorists from Yatta walked into a busy Tel Aviv market and opened fire, murdering four civilians and wounding at least seven; the murder of Dafna Meir (2016) where a terrorist from Yatta stabbed Dafna Meir to death in front of her children outside her home in Otniel; the Yavneh stabbing attack (2018), where a terrorist from Yatta entered a supermarket, grabbed an Israeli civilian, and stabbed him repeatedly in the neck and chest, leaving him critically wounded, and the Gush Etzion stabbing (2018) where a terrorist from Yatta stabbed and killed Ari Fuld, a well-known Israeli activist.

The documentary contrasts the hardships that Basal Adra faces as a Palestinian with Yuval Abraham’s “freedom and security” as an Israeli, conveniently ignoring that Israelis have been subjected to relentless terror campaigns for decades. 

In 2024 alone, Israeli security forces – the same security forces that the documentary demonizes – thwarted over 1,000 terrorist attacks in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including bombings, shootings, stabbings, car rammings, suicide bombings, attempted kidnappings, and more. 

While highlighting the plight of Palestinians in the West Bank is important, it’s equally important not to present a one-sided, inaccurate narrative of the situation, which not only demonizes Israelis by not explaining the reasoning behind Israel’s policies in the West Bank but also fosters divisions and undermines dialogue and peace efforts. 

Furthermore, from the stage, Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham stated: “Can’t you see that we are intertwined? That my people can be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly free and safe? There is another way. It’s not too late for life, for the living.”

In an ideal world, the above statement would hold true.

However, Palestinian leadership and so-called civil society organizations have repeatedly demonstrated that they have no real interest in lasting peace or a two-state solution.

Israel’s security measures were implemented in direct response to terrorism and the continued Palestinian struggle to establish a state of Palestine in the entirety of the land between the river and the sea, instead of agreeing to live in pace and accepting a state of Palestine in just part of the land, as the Jews themselves have done. 

If Hollywood wants to understand the true security issues Israel faces, perhaps they should watch the Palestinian documentary filmed on October 7, where Hamas and other Palestinian militants broadcast to the world hundreds of hours in which they documented themselves murdering entire families, kidnapping Holocaust survivors and infants, and committing unimaginable horrors, including rape.

The horrors of October 7, 2023 exposed the devastating consequences of Israeli security failures.

In this new reality, empty platitudes, not to mention empty films, no longer suffice.

Read the original article here.

By: Shiryn Ghermezian

Adam Brody, Billy Crystal, and Eugene Levy are among the Jewish celebrities whose homes have been destroyed and reduced to rubble by the wildfires in Los Angeles County that started early Tuesday morning and have so far killed 10 people.

Brody and his wife, actress Leighton Meester, lived in the Pacific Palisades, where an out-of-control bush fire started Tuesday morning before spreading to other neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area with the help of strong winds.

Crystal lost the Pacific Palisades house where he had lived since 1979 and raised his children.

Levy also saw his house burn down in the same neighborhood. The “Schitt’s Creek” star told the Los Angeles Times that he was caught in gridlock traffic when trying to evacuate his neighborhood. Levy, who is Canadian, has been serving as Pacific Palisades’ honorary mayor since 2021.

“Top Gun: Maverick” actor Miles Teller, who is of Russian and Jewish descent on his father’s side, had pictures of his burning home shared by media outlets. American television host and actress Melissa Rivers, who is the daughter of the late Jewish comedian and media personality Joan Rivers, also had her home destroyed by the wildfires. She talked to CNN on Wednesday about the belongings she took from her home before evacuating, and said they included her mother’s only Emmy award — won in 1990 for Outstanding Talk/Service Show Host for her work on “The Joan Rivers Show.” Rivers also grabbed items such as passports, birth certificates, and medication before evacuating her home.

“I grabbed my mom’s Emmy, a photo of my dad [the late producer Edgar Rosenberg], and a drawing that my mother had done of me and my son … I went for a drawing of my mother’s rather than a photo, because I know I can find the photos,” she said, adding of the drawing, “I can’t replace [it].”

The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center was decimated by the fire, but its 13 Torah scrolls were saved.

Other Jewish celebrities whose homes were destroyed in the wildfires include Diane Warren, Ricki Lake, and Jennifer Grey.

Warren and Levy have been honored by Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), a pro-Israel nonprofit organization that is comprised of prominent members of the entertainment industry dedicated to combating anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism in the industry. The organization shared its condolences to victims of the wildfires in a released statement.

“We are devastated by the unprecedented destruction in Los Angeles, which has forced members of the Creative Community for Peace’s advisory board, and broader community, and even our esteemed Ambassadors of Peace honorees, such as Eugene Levy and Diane Warren, to evacuate and face the loss of their homes,” CCFP said. “We are a community of strength and resilience. Together, we will rebuild and overcome.”

Lake’s home in Malibu was destroyed on Tuesday, and she chronicled in a series of Instagram posts her family’s failed efforts to stay behind and save the house, before they decided to evacuate and prevent themselves from being engulfed in the flames.

“Ross and I lost our dream home,” she wrote in one Instagram post, referring to her husband. “This description ‘dream home’ doesn’t suffice. It was our heaven on earth. The place where we planned to grow old together … This loss is immeasurable. It’s the spot where we got married 3 years ago. I grieve along with all of those suffering during this apocalyptic event. Praying for all of my neighbors, my friends, my community, the animals, the firefighters, and first responders.”

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who is the daughter of the late Jewish actor Tony Curtis, said she is donating $1 million toward the relief efforts for the wildfires in LA.

“As the fire still rages on and @calfire @losangelesfiredepartment and all the available first responders and agencies involved in fighting fire and saving lives are still hard at work and neighbors and friends are banding together to save each other, my husband and I and our children have pledged $1 million from our Family Foundation to start a fund of support for our great city and state and the great people who live and love there,” Curtis, who had to evacuate her LA home, wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday. “I’m in communication with [California] Governor [Gavin] Newsom and [LA] Mayor [KAren] Bass and Senator [Adam] Schiff as to where those funds need to be directed for the most impact.”

At least 70,000 people have been displaced by the wildfires since Tuesday morning, and Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said late on Thursday that he expects the death toll to increase. The Palisades fire between Santa Monica and Malibu and the Eaton fire in the east near Pasadena have been ranked as the most destructive fires in the history of Los Angeles for destroying more than 34,000 acres and nearly 10,000 structures, according to Reuters.

The Jewish organization Chai Lifeline is providing resources to support victims of the Los Angeles wildfire, and the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles has created a Wildfire Crisis Relief Fund to support its neighbors affected by the fires, while also helping to facilitate shelter, warm meals, and other needs for victims. BStrong — an initiative started by Jewish entrepreneur and former reality star Bethenny Frankel in partnership with the nonprofit organization Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) — is raising funds and also providing supplies and resources to help with the relief efforts.