The USA’s Foundation for Holocaust Survivors has criticized Jonathan Glazer, director of The Zone of Interest, for his “morally unacceptable” speech upon accepting an Oscar on Sunday.
On the organization’s website, the chairman of the foundation, David Schaecter, released a public letter stating, “Congratulations on winning an Oscar for your Holocaust film, especially as you are Jewish. However, it is unacceptable for you to claim to represent the six million Jews, including one and a half million children, who tragically lost their lives simply because of their Jewish heritage.”
Schaecter stated, “Your use of Auschwitz to criticize Israel is shameful. If you consider the establishment, existence, and endurance of Israel as a Jewish state to be ‘occupation’, then it is clear that you have not learned from your film.”
Glazer, along with film producer James Wilson, won the best international film Academy Award for The Zone of Interest, about the daily life of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig. In his speech, Glazer said that he and Wilson “stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack in Gaza.”
The Anti-Defamation League denounced Glazer’s comments made at the #Oscars on social media, calling them “reprehensible” and stating that Israel is not using Judaism or the Holocaust to justify defending itself against terrorists. The League also mentioned that Glazer’s comments are not only factually inaccurate but also morally unacceptable as they downplay the impact of the Holocaust and excuse terrorist actions.
Glazer has also received widespread support for his comments, including from Israeli military veterans’ organisation Breaking the Silence, which posted a statement on social media saying “[Glazer] took an unequivocal stance against the cynical utilisation of Judaism and the Holocaust in the name of justifying the occupation … we refuse to accept the ease with which the blood and lives of civilians is used as a justification for political ideologies, or as a bargaining chip. Empathy is not a zero-sum game.”
Source: theguardian.com
