Debra Messing, David Schwimmer, others call out Academy for excluding Jews from Oscars diversity standards
A large group of Jewish entertainers have signed an open letter calling out the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for excluding Jews from its recently-implemented Oscars diversity standards in the wake of growing antisemitism following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel.
In 2020, in the cultural reckoning following the death of George Floyd, the Academy announced that it would require films to have more members of different races and ethnic groups as part of their cast and crew among other criteria that elevates women, the LGBTQ and people with disabilities. 2024 marks the first year films will have to abide by the standards in order to be eligible at the Oscars in 2025.
But despite being roughly 2% of the U.S. population and just 0.2% of the world population, Jews were not included among the minority groups highlighted by the Academy.
"While we applaud the Academy's efforts to increase diverse and authentic storytelling, an inclusion effort that excludes Jews is both steeped in and misunderstands antisemitism," the open letter reads. "It erases Jewish peoplehood and perpetuates myths of Jewish whiteness, power, and that racism against Jews is not a major issue or that it’s a thing of the past."
The letter, organized by the Jew in the City Hollywood Bureau for Jewish Representation, argued that Jews are their own ethnic group and stressed that they are "an indigenous people to the Middle East" and that "this is not negated by the fact that Jews, like all marginalized groups, have White-passing members."
"Systemic racism against Jews in the United States included segregation, redlining, quotas, and gatekeeping, and was the motivation for the founders of Hollywood to start an industry where antisemitism wouldn’t harm them," the letter tells the Academy. "Unfortunately, many of these founders had internalized shame and self-loathing, which meant that Jews in Hollywood often changed their names and told stories about Jews with caricatures, tropes, appropriation, and self-erasure."
The letter continues, "The absence of Jews from ‘under-represented’ groupings implies that Jews are over-represented in films, which is simply untrue. There are very few films about Jews, aside from ones about the Holocaust. Moreover, when Jewish characters are featured, they are often played by non-Jews, a rare practice for other marginalized groups. While there have always been Jews working in the industry, the industry has only accommodated a certain type of Jew: the toned-down Jew."
The letter went on to add, "A more flagrantly looking or observing Jew has never had a home in Hollywood. Even with today’s increased standards of inclusion and diversity, that Jew continues to not be welcome. Jewish people being excluded from the Motion Picture Academy’s Representation and Inclusion Standards is discriminating against a protected class by invalidating their historic and genetic identity. This must be addressed immediately by including Jews in these standards."
The group of entertainers, including actors, directors, writers, executives and agents, also suggests additional changes like taking cultural consultants and authentic casting into account.
"There is a duty for the entertainment world to do its part in disseminating whole and human depictions of Jews, to increase understanding and empathy in viewers in these dangerous times. We ask the Motion Picture Academy leadership to do its part in advancing a just cause that has been ignored for too long," the letter concludes.
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Among the over 250 signatories, the vast majority of them Jewish, include Debra Messing, David Schwimmer, Mayim Bialik, Josh Gad, Julianna Marguiles, Michael Rapaport and Tiffany Haddish.
The Academy did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Many of the A-list stars have been outspoken in their support for Israel and their condemnation of growing antisemitism. Messing was among the high-profile speakers who spoke at the March for Israel rally in Washington D.C. Schwimmer was among those who blasted the Ivy League university presidents who failed to say that calls for genocide against Jews on their campuses didn't violate their codes of conduct.
Rapaport tore into members of the Democratic "Squad" over their hostility towards Israel. More recently, he slammed the Golden Globe attendees for not acknowledging the Israeli hostages who remain captive in Gaza by Hamas.