Jewish artists defend Mark Ruffalo against antisemitism allegations

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Jewish artists defend Mark Ruffalo against antisemitism allegations

Developing story first seen 3 hours ago

The Guardian · 3 hours ago

More than 170 prominent Jewish artists and writers, including Todd Haynes, Joel Coen, Miranda July, Hannah Einbinder, Wallace Shawn and Naomi Klein, have published an open letter titled "Enough!" defending Mark Ruffalo against accusations that he invoked antisemitic tropes. The letter dismisses the claims as an "outrageous smear campaign" and argues that criticism of Israeli military policy and its corporate suppliers is being wrongly conflated with antisemitism, adding a further layer of prominent support to Ruffalo since Paramount's initial rebuke.

The row stems from Ruffalo's criticism of Paramount Skydance's $111bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery, in which he highlighted links between the deal's backer, Larry Ellison, and Oracle, the tech firm owned by Ellison that has long supplied software to the Israel Defense Forces. Paramount said it was "troubled" by the invocation of antisemitic tropes, prompting Ruffalo and now the signatories, including actor Ilana Glazer, to insist the dispute concerns corporate consolidation and military technology contracts rather than Jewish people, while warning the merger would concentrate media power and "tech-driven domination" in ways they link to support for actions against Palestinians.

  • Over 170 Jewish artists sign letter defending Ruffalo from antisemitism claims.
  • Row centres on his criticism of Paramount-Warner Bros $111bn merger.
  • Letter says Oracle's Israel software ties and merger are legitimate targets, not antisemitism.

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Originally published by The Guardian as “Todd Haynes and Wallace Shawn among signatories of letter backing Mark Ruffalo amid antisemitism charge”.