On Sunday morning, the glossy pages of Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard carried something extra in addition to their news of castings, hirings and firings: a petition, signed by nearly 200 Hollywood elites, bashing Hamas and defending Israel, ToI’s Debra Kamin reported Sunday.
Seth Rogen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Maher and Sylvester Stallone were among the signatories, as were Amy Pascal (co-chair, Sony Pictures) and Sherry Lansing (former CEO, Paramount).
Six weeks into Operation Protective Edge, with global anti-Semitism said by some to be at unprecedented post-World War II levels, and dozens of Hollywood A-listers — from Penelope Cruz to Selena Gomez to even the Kabbalah-loving Madonna — all taking to the social media airwaves to decry Israel’s actions in Gaza, this petition was a major coup.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone pose on the red carpet for the premiere of their movie “The Expendables 3” in Macau, China, Friday, Aug. 22, 2014. The two are among 187 signatories on a new letter slamming Hamas. (photo credit: AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Behind the document, which also bears the names of Minnie Driver, Ziggy Marley, Mayim Bialik, Kelsey Grammer and Aaron Sorkin, is an organization called Creative Community for Peace — a defiantly pro-Israel gathering of industry insiders and eager volunteers who, together, have been fighting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on the world’s glitziest, most celeb-obsessed stage.
Today, the group’s organizers say, there is not a single musical act, from Justin Timberlake to the Rolling Stones to Alicia Keys, that they have not approached and coached in advance of their performance in Israel.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 25, 2014
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