Casey Wasserman Latest Hollywood Leader To Condemn Attack On Israel – Update

Patrick Hipes
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4TH UPDATE, Oct 16: Casey Wasserman is the latest Hollywood heavyweight to speak out in support of Israel.

“There is no justification for this,” the Wasserman chairman-CEO – and chairman of the L.A. 2028 committee – reportedly said at an International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai on Monday. “I unequivocally stand in solidarity with Israel, but let me be clear I also stand with the innocent civilians in Gaza who did not choose this war.”

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Referencing the terrorist kidnapping of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Games, Wasserman continued, “Unfortunately, the Olympics are not immune to the world we live in.

“At its worst, it is a platform for hate to express itself on the stage and we will always remember the 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team who were taken hostage and murdered in Munich.

“But at its best it is an opportunity for sport to show the world a better path with peace and unity, and we will always remember the triumph of Jesse Owens in the face of unspeakable evil.”

3RD UPDATE, Oct 13: Disney Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment Dana Walden sent a memo to staff today calling this week’s terrorist strikes on Israel “the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.” She also thanks Disney employs “for continuing to support one another and urged them “to be kind to yourselves and each other during this particularly dark time.”

Read her full memo at the bottom of this post.

Dana Walden
Dana Walden

2ND UPDATE, Oct. 12: A group of entertainment executives, producers and filmmakers Thursday released a statement condemning the recent attacks on Israel by Hamas, which has seen the death toll rise to 1,300 since the attacks began.

The group includes Haim Saban; Jeffrey Katzenberg; Eli Roth; producers Jonathan Glickman, Lawrence Bender, Roger Birnbaum and Rick Yorn; Spyglass Media Group chairman and CEO Gary Barber; UTA co-founder Jim Berkus; CAA’s Chris Silbermann; Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, Paramount’s Brian Robbins; and executives Ben Silverman, Modi Wiczyk and Jason Hirschhorn.

“We denounce the brutal attacks by Hamas in Israel,” said the joint statement. “These atrocities will have a devastating impact on future generations. We unequivocally stand in solidarity with Israel in the global fight against terrorism. Am Yisrael Chai.”

UPDATE, Oct. 11: The Directors Guild of America has released a statement saying it “unequivocally condemns” the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, affirming its commitment to “supporting the Jewish people.”

“The DGA unequivocally condemns terrorism and joins the many voices in our community decrying the recent Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel and violence against innocent civilians,” the statement reads. “We stand against the growing spread of antisemitism here in the US and abroad, and remain committed in our actions, words and deeds to supporting the Jewish people.”

PREVIOUS, Oct. 10: MRC CEO Scott Tenley, alongside founders Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu, are speaking out against the actions taken against Israel by Hamas.

In a memo to their company colleagues sent Tuesday, the trio condemned “in the strongest possible terms the actions of Hamas and all terrorism.”

The trio cited similar statements in support of Israel including from President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama and the New York Times Editorial Board.

Others in the Hollywood and entertainment community have spoken out against the attacks, which began over the weekend. More than 1,000 deaths have been reported by officials in Israel and almost that many more in the Gaza Strip.

“There is no moral equivalence for terrorism and there is no hedging on Hamas. You are seeing pure evil play out,” the MRC trio wrote today.

Read the memo in full below.

Several industry events in the region have been halted since the attacks began. The El-Gouna Film Festival in Egypt has been postponed, while Sean Penn’s satire C.A.U.G.H.T. has been pulled from the upcoming Mipcom market among recent moves.

Dear Colleagues,

We write to you this morning as reports continue to flood in from Israel. 260 massacred teenagers at a music festival. 100 massacred farmers. Kidnapped grandparents, babies. Parents called by their children’s captors so they can hear them being raped and murdered. And new reports of dozens of decapitated infants and children.

When we dealt with the Kanye documentary, we spoke about our desire for peace between Israel and Palestine.

This is not about that. Hamas has no cause and no nation. It does not represent the Palestinian people any more than Isis represents Syrians or Taliban represents Afghans. They are not freedom fighters. They were not elected democratically and honestly. These groups only know barbarism, violence, and death. They are as destructive to the people they control as they are to their enemies. These actions are always borne from hatred, but specifically now they are borne from a desperate desire to ruin the peace process that has gained momentum between Palestine, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the US.

If you are pro-peace, you are against Hamas. MRC condemns in the strongest possible terms the actions of Hamas and all terrorism. Like President Obama, President Biden, Representative Ritchie Torres, leaders of over 50 countries and the entire New York Times Editorial Board – many of whom have criticized Israel in the past – today we stand unequivocally with Israel.

And we do not forget the millions of Palestinians who crave peace but are under Hamas rule. We stand with you too in the struggle against Hamas.

There is no moral equivalence for terrorism and there is no hedging on Hamas. You are seeing pure evil play out.

We have resources for anyone that wants to send aid to all those affected in Gaza and in Israel.

Scott, Modi and Asif

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