These days, Hollywood is abuzz with the news of a clique of powerful actors, producers, writers and studio owners who have publicly shown support for Israel, and against Hamas and Hezbollah, in a full-page advertisement published in the Los Angeles Times.
It is for the first time ever that the show of support has been backed by some of the most powerful names in Hollywood and beyond, including Nicole Kidman, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Rupert Murdoch, Don Johnson and Michael Douglas. The advertisement, which was the result of a long-winded diplomatic effort of the Israeli Consul-General in LA, Ehud Danoch, reads in a slightly vague denouncement of terrorism, by specifically mentioning two organisations that the ‘other part’ of the world (read Muslims) believes are fighting a just cause.
The wordings of the ad read: “We the undersigned are pained and devastated by the civilian casualties in Israel and Lebanon caused by terrorist actions initiated by terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah and Hamas. If we do not succeed in stopping terrorism around the world, chaos will rule and innocent people will continue to die. We need to support democratic societies and stop terrorism at all costs.”
While other prominent names endorsing the ad include kingmakers like Sumner Redstone, chairman and majority owner of Paramount Pictures and billionaire mogul, Haim Saban, interestingly Mel Gibson — known for his anti-Jew outbursts (having called Jews to be “responsible for all the wars in the world”) — has been unavailable for his stance. Some other prominent heavyweights like Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise have also remained detached from the campaign.
Meanwhile, other actors have joined the support programme actively. The Jerusalem Post gleefully reports that Adam Sandler has pledged to provide 400 PlayStations to Israeli children whose homes have been lost in the Hezbollah attacks and that Sharon Stone, the Basic Instinct star, is now a frequent visitor to Israel for regular briefings on Middle East to contribute her fair share of Israeli lobbying in her Hollywood circles.
It will be little surprise that the stars on this support programme shall, in turn, be supported by the equally supportive gang of producers and writers in their climb up the dizzying heights of success. Some right-wing reporters of Hollywood have already shown a great liking to Nicole Kidman, for instance, after her name appeared in the ad, giving her extensive coverage and endorsement. The producers and studio owners have been offered great incentives like Israeli desert locales for motion pictures (who have been currently frequenting Moroccan locations) apart from talent hunts in Israel for new faces to be cast in mega productions.
Some left-wing analysts have argued that the ad shows only one side of the picture. An independent blogger on the Internet comments: “(The ad reflects) on the relative ignorance of people who have no knowledge of the situation in the Middle East. I doubt any of those actors could even find Lebanon on a map before this war. Essentially, these actors are simply playing politics with the lives of innocents.”
Another left-wing analyst, Kurt Nimmo writes: “Of course we cannot expect pampered Hollywood actors, directors, and studio moguls to know jack about the situation in Lebanon or Palestine, not anymore than the average American tuned in to Fox News and CNN knows anything about the facts behind Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. Obviously, Kidman and crew are Full Square behind Israel’s ethnic cleansing and the neocon push to kill thousands, if not millions of Iranians and Syrians. If this is not a reason to never again visit a multiplex cinema or rent a DVD, I don’t know what is.”
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