The Israel's War on Gaza played out at the Oscars award ceremonies on Sunday as celebrities at the venue joined hundreds of demonstrators in Los Angeles who disrupted the traffic to the venue in protest against the war and in support for an immediate ceasefire.
A number of celebrities, including A-listers like singer Billie Eilish and actor Mark Ruffalo, wore a red pin to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The most prominent voice against Israel was, however, filmmaker Jonathan Glazer. In the acceptance speech after his film 'The Zone of Interest' won the Best International Film award, he criticised the Israeli "occupation" and "dehumanisation" of the Palestinians.
Besides the overt act of protest against the Israel's war at the Oscars, hundreds of film personalities have come out in solidarity with the Palestinians. More than 400 Hollywood personalities have written to US President Joe Biden to call for an "immediate de-escalation and ceasefire".
"We urge your administration, Congress, and all world leaders, to honor all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages," said the Hollywood personalities in their letter to Biden under the banner of 'Artists4Ceasefire'. The signatories included Andrew Garfield, Anoushka Shankar, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lopez, Gigi Hadid, and Priyanka Chopra.
Oscar Winner Condemns Israeli Occupation
Film director Jonathan Glazer, whose 'The Zone of Interest' won the Best International Film Award at the Oscars 2024, was the most notable voice against the Israel's War on Gaza. In his speech, he highlighted he was a Jew and was against the war.
Glazer also condemned the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the dehumanisation of the Palestinians.
Glazer's film, 'The Zone of Interest', is about the Auschwitz concentration camp, which was one of the sites of the most well-known systematic killing of Jews by the Germany's Nazis during the Holocaust in the World War II. About his film, he said, "All our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present, not to say look what they did then, rather what we do now. Our film shows where dehumanisation leads at its worst. It's shaped all of our past and present."
Then, drawing a contrast with the present-day when the Jewish State of Israel is accused of a genocide against the Palestinians, Glazer said, "Right now, we 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 7th in Israel, or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanisation, how do we resist?"
Glazer further said all those killed in the ongoing war in Israel and Gaza were victims of "dehumanisation".
Red Pins As Symbols For Ceasefire At Oscars
While filmmaker Jonathan Glazer used the podium to speak against the Israel's War on Gaza, a number of those used the Oscars evening took to wearing red pins symbolising the call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The celebrities wearing the red pins included A-listers like singer Billie Eilish and Marvel star and 'Hulk' actor Mark Ruffalo.
The red pins feature a spread-out hand with a heart in black. The pins have been distributed by 'Artists4Ceasefire', a collective of more than 400 Hollywood personalities who signed a letter to US President Joe Biden to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
"The pin symbolises collective support for an immediate and permanent cease-fire, the release of all of the hostages and for the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza...Compassion must prevail," said the collective in a press release.
Others who wore the pins were director Ava DuVernay, actor Mahershala Ali, comedian Ramy Youssef, and model and actor Quannah Chasinghorse, according to The New York Times.
Youssef, who was also a presenter at the ceremony, also starred in 'Poor Things', one of the most-nominated films at the Oscars 2024. In an interview with The Times, he said their gesture was about something as basic as saying "hey, let's stop killing kids".
"There’s a part of you that hopes it doesn’t have to get to pins. There’s a part of us that hoped we would already be at a cease-fire, and we’re not...This isn’t about political strategy, this isn’t about going tit-for-tat. It’s about something really simple, which is just: Hey, let’s stop killing kids," said Youssef to The Times.
In a separate interview with Deadline, Youssef's 'Poor Things' co-star Ruffalo said, "We’re not going to bomb our way to peace, and all we’re saying is, what’s wrong with giving a cease-fire a chance?"
Writing in The Times, Callie Holtermann noted that the Israel's War on Gaza "has been a relatively minor presence on red carpets since the Golden Globe Awards in January". Holtermann further noted that wearing of pins and ribbons have been a regular feature at successive Oscars to highlight the world's pressing issues.
"Blue ribbons were the accessory of choice at the 2023 Oscars to voice support for refugees. Women in Hollywood wore black to the Golden Globes in 2018 in solidarity with victims of sexual harassment, and Natalie Portman wore a cape embroidered with the names of female directors to the 2020 Oscars," noted Holtermann further.
Israel mounted the war on Gaza on October 7 after an attack on the country by Hamas, a militant group based in Gaza which has controlled the strip since 2007. Israel and its principal backer the United States consider Hamas a terrorist group. In the aerial bombing campaign and ground assaults since then, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 72,000 have been injured in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to Gaza's Hamas-run authorities cited by Al Jazeera. The Israeli War on Gaza has led to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza as food, water, medicines, and other essential supplies are in acute shortage. The Israel's war has drawn worldwide condemnation and artists' groups globally are calling for a ceasefire. The vast majority of the Palestinian population has been internally displaced and a large number of residential buildings and neighbourhoods have been devastated in monthslong Israeli bombings.
While Israel says its war on Gaza is in self-defence, its actions are increasingly being condemned and it is currently facing a case of genocide of the Palestinians at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
