On the day singers Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga performed together in Tel Aviv, some 300 Hollywood stars and behind-the-lens staff put their name to an ad in The New York Times decrying Hamas’ raison d’être and its actions.
We, the undersigned, are saddened by the devastating loss of life endured by Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza. We are pained by the suffering on both sides of the conflict and hope for a solution that brings peace to the region.
While we stand firm in our commitment to peace and justice, we must also stand firm against ideologies of hatred and genocide which are reflected in Hamas’ charter, Article 7 of which reads, “There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!” The son of a Hamas founder has also commented about the true nature of Hamas.
Hamas cannot be allowed to rain rockets on Israeli cities, nor can it be allowed to hold its own people hostage. Hospitals are for healing, not for hiding weapons. Schools are for learning, not for launching missiles. Children are our hope, not our human shields.
We join together in support of the democratic values we all cherish and in the hope that the healing and transformative power of the arts can be used to build bridges of peace.
The ad was the second in recent weeks organized by Creative Community for Peace, whose organizers say they “represent a cross section of the creative world–those who create and help create music, films, and television programs–and their fans. We may not all share the same politics or the same opinion on the best path to peace in the Middle East. But we do agree that singling out Israel, the only democracy in the region, as a target of cultural boycotts while ignoring the now-recognized human rights issues of her neighbors will not further peace.”
Among those signing the new ad were the film-producer brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and actors Rob Morrow and Jon Lovitz . Songwriter Carole Bayer Sager and producer Lou Adler were among the representatives of the world of music. In addition to The New York Times “[t]he statement has already run in major industry publications, including Billboard, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline Hollywood.”
More than one hundred stars joined the 190 who signed the initial ad in August. The original group included in its number Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Seth Rogen, HBO’s Richard Plepler, MGM’s Gary Barber, lawyer Alan Wertheimer and public relations veteran Alan Nierob.
[Photo: Gage Skidmore / flickr]