Some at Golden Globes don yellow ribbon pins in solidarity with hostages
Organization advocating for return of abductees held by Hamas in Gaza hands out pins to attendees of star-studded event; ribbon a longstanding symbol for prisoners of war
JTA — One of the movies up for best picture at the 2024 Golden Globes awards was about the Holocaust. One of the most notable displays during the ceremony alluded to a current attack on Jews.
In the lead-up to the awards ceremony Sunday night, US advocates for Israeli and foreign hostages being held by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza worked to supply attendees with yellow ribbon pins to affix to their red-carpet garb.
Terror groups in Gaza are still holding approximately 136 hostages — not all of whom are alive, and almost all of whom were kidnapped when Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people, abducting over 240 and sparking the ongoing war.
Yellow ribbons are a longstanding symbol of readiness to welcome home prisoners or hostages.
The Bring Them Home movement, which advocates for the hostages held in Gaza, distributed the pins as part of its effort to keep the hostages in public view.
It was unclear in the days ahead of the ceremony how widely the ribbons would be taken up.
Stars on the red carpet largely were not wearing the ribbons on Sunday night, although a handful, including the “Succession” star J. Smith-Cameron, bore one, as did Jesse Sisgold, president of Skydance Media, and Jon Weinbach, writer of “Air,” a movie up for best comedy. (It did not win.)
The ribbons represented a significant reference to contemporary politics during awards season, which has been expected as the Israel-Hamas war has gained widespread attention — and has sowed conflict — in the arts world.
Local police were reportedly gearing up for potential protests outside the awards ceremony in Los Angeles, as protesters in favor of a ceasefire have sought to disrupt high-profile public events across the country over the last three months.
Few of the films that were up for Golden Globe awards feature Jewish stories or actors prominently. Two exceptions were up for best picture, including the winner “Oppenheimer,” the biopic about the Jewish father of the atomic bomb, and “Zone of Interest,” about the Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss.
“Oppenheimer” won for best dramatic movie, as well as for best actor (Cillian Murphy), best supporting actor (Robert Downey Jr.), best director (Christopher Nolan), and best original score.
