New York – Growing Number Of Stars Risk Opinions On Gaza Conflict

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    FILE - In this June 25, 2014 file photo, Mark Ruffalo arrives at the New York premiere of "Begin Again," in New York. After actor Wallace Shawn decided to lend his name and very recognizable voice to the growing dissent against Israel's actions in Gaza, he had people on the street express their disappointment in him. Ruffalo has tweeted on the issue frequently and said he's seen his following fluctuate because of it. But he's committed to using his social media voice for more than just entertainment. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, file)New York – When director Jonathan Demme was approached to show support for all victims of the conflict in Gaza, he didn’t hesitate to sign on. Actor Wallace Shawn is willing to put up with jeers on the street for his opinions about the violence. And Mark Ruffalo is determined to air his views about the fighting on Twitter, no matter the cost to his social media numbers.

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    The Israel-Palestinian debate was once considered so delicate a topic, it was pretty much off-limits to celebrities. But in another sign that social media is intensifying how we wrestle with sensitive global issues, stars of all stripes are taking to the Internet to openly discuss the conflict that has killed more than 1,300 people. The result is a high-profile divide rarely seen within the predominantly liberal entertainment community.

    “I don’t see this as being politics or statehood for Palestine or Hamas,” Demme said. “I think it’s about taking innocent lives and the destruction of a culture. … I’ve never been ashamed of my pacifist point of view of things at any time since I became a card-carrying hippie back in the ’60s.”

    Demme is among dozens of musicians, actors, filmmakers, authors and sports figures who have chosen to speak out about the conflict. Yet some, like pop star Rihanna and Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard, had second thoughts and erased their messages of support for Palestinians soon after they were posted.

    And Penelope Cruz and husband Javier Bardem quickly clarified their stand on the issue after they joined 100 Spanish signees of an open letter calling the Israeli attacks genocide. Later, more participants sought to tone down the rhetoric.

    Others, though, haven’t backed away from their commentary. Demme, Shawn, Chuck D and dozens more, including Nobel Peace Prize winners, participated in a Jewish Voice For Peace video in which each held up a sign with the name and age of a conflict casualty. The video attracted 100,000 views in two days on the Web.

    Shawn, who is Jewish, narrates the video and said he’s been criticized on the street in New York because of it. He said he understands the Jewish community’s need for Israel to exist, but he would like to persuade those stars who support Israel’s actions — including such notables as Scarlett Johansson, Joan Rivers, Howard Stern and Bill Maher — that violence is unnecessary.

    “We’re involved as American taxpayers, so, you know, I’m involved,” Shawn said in an interview. “I’m actually paying for these cruel assaults on innocent civilians. So I am balancing out my own crimes to some very small extent by lending my voice and my face to a video protesting what I myself am doing.”

    Celebrities airing views on social or political issues is nothing new, said “Reinventing Yourself” author and former presidential campaign spokeswoman Dorie Clark. “But there are some issues that are far more controversial than others.”

    Wiping out hunger or eradicating disease are issues most people, including celebrities, can get behind, she noted. But Israel is a topic that’s very personal to many people, and one that almost always causes friction — and in the case of the current Mideast clash, an unusually sharp difference of opinion among entertainers.
    FILE - In this Aug. 30, 2012 file photo, film director Jonathan Demme poses for a portrait at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy. Wallace Shawn participated in a Jewish Voice for Peace video earlier this week along with other celebrities like Public Enemy rapper Chuck D and the Academy Award-winning director Demme and Nobel Peace Prize laureates that showed dozens holding up signs with the names of Palestinian killed in the violence. Demme feels much the same way as Wallace - that he's a passive participant in the attacks because of his status as a U.S. citizen - and says he's never thought once about holding back his feelings. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
    “If I were a publicist advising Hollywood celebrities, if your conscience absolutely compels you to speak out, then do it,” Clark said. “But there are serious risks and people have been trying to figure out this situation for millennia and your voice or support one way or another may not be helpful to the overall debate.”

    In some ways it may be harmful, said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean at the pro-Israel Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. Hier, who has close ties to the Hollywood community, sees celebrities misinterpreting events and journalists ignoring history when describing the current conflict. He believes comments like those first issued by the 100 Spanish luminaries are irresponsible.

    Hier believes some condemning Israel are doing it to gain fans in a climate of growing anti-Semitism in Europe.

    “I think they think they’re going to be more popular,” Hier said. “Look around the world. I’m not talking about the United States; in the United States polls show two to one that people understand how the war started and they back Israel. But it’s not so around the world.”

    How each star chooses to broach the issue has varied. Many acts have canceled concerts in Israel. Some cite safety concerns. Others are actively calling for a boycott, such as Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters. And some try to distance themselves from the political debate, staying with a message of peace.

    Ruffalo has tweeted on the issue frequently and said he’s seen his following fluctuate because of it. But he’s committed to using his social media voice for more than just laughs.

    “When you’re talking to a million people, even in 140 characters, if you get 5 percent or 2 percent or 1 percent that actually think differently for a moment or see something differently for a moment, I think you’ve done an enormously positive thing,” he said.


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    13 Comments
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    BeKind
    BeKind
    9 years ago

    Firstly, who cares what these “stars” say? Their life’s work is pretending to be other people. Big deal.
    And secondly, we are all monitoring these stars’ comments and sentiments during this conflict, very closely.

    Liepa
    Liepa
    9 years ago

    So what, do these oberpeople think about 170,000 killed, with no end in sight, and no ceasefire nothing, in Syria, pray tell?

    9 years ago

    Who cares what these losers say. These pot smoking sodomites are meaningless.

    sane
    sane
    9 years ago

    Where were these “stars” when Clinton bombed Serbia and Bush bombed Iraq and Afghanistan killing thousands of civilians.

    ayoyo
    ayoyo
    9 years ago

    Stars shmars the arabs want to kill all jews period end of statement. The liberal peace lovers cant get it in their heads that the arabs want to kill all jews with or without israel.

    9 years ago

    The fact that these stars first post comments and then quickly remove them, shows how disingenuous they are. As soon as they realize their comments may be unpopular with the,public, their views suddenly change. Their only goal is being in the news and making money. As soon as they see their public not being happy with them, they suddenly change their way if thinking,

    FinVeeNemtMenSeichel
    FinVeeNemtMenSeichel
    9 years ago

    I’m sure we’d be getting their all-important sympathy if it were us getting killed “disproportionately.”

    fat36
    fat36
    9 years ago

    If they get married a couple more times to each other and have a little bit more drugs and go visit Syria……,,,,, a bunch of clowns the sad thing is Americans are so dumb that they actually look up to these people as being the most educated in everything

    Normal
    Normal
    9 years ago

    Perhaps they should google “250 Christian Girls Gang Raped and Executed in the Name of Allah” where the young girls can be seen on video being gang raped and, ultimately, slaughtered.last week in Nigeria by Muslim idiots. Where is your outrage?

    How about another 250 girls kidnapped a months ago by Muslim idiots?

    Or the 2,000 deaths in Syria last week?

    Not cool enough to protest about.

    lazerx
    lazerx
    9 years ago

    it is easy to react to pictures of crying women holding dead babies.

    It is a wise person who investigates the circumstances before making an emotional decision. Most of these people don’t do that.

    Tzaddikguy
    Tzaddikguy
    9 years ago

    “,,,without violence.”

    Firstly,the Torah says quite the opposite and,secondly,I was born in England,as was both my mother and father.

    Both my mother and her father told of how you would hear those V-rockets coming over during WW2 and you just hoped and prayed it didn’t land on you!

    The most reassuring sound you could ever hear,I’m told was the sound of those big guns going “woof,woof” in London,shooting them down,and,the Spitfires going up to confront them.

    What if the UK Armed Forces had done nothing?

    I must add that some pilot got the idea later”why don’t we just go up and tip their wings and turn them back?”A man who was there,said to me: “:You don’t know what it was like.I was stationed there!They laughed at the guy at first and thought he was crazy,but,after he tried and it worked,everyone started doing it!”

    What if Britain had done nothing?

    What if Israel did nothing?

    Besides,why aren’t these morally bankrupt “stars” saying anything about those christians and others being killed by ISIS in Iraq,and those being killed in Pakistan and other places,not to mention young girls being forced to marry much older muslim men,et al!

    Oh,but,Israel and Jews..