A new witch-hunt has been launched in Hollywood, targeting actors and others who speak out against the Israeli military’s campaign of mass murder in Gaza. Spurious and slanderous claims of antisemitism drive this new purge of political opposition in the film industry. That opposition to crimes against humanity is associated with “antisemitism” is both reactionary and dangerous.
Mexican-born actress Melissa Barrera was fired from the Scream horror franchise for speaking out clearly and loudly against the ongoing carnage in Gaza, and referring to it correctly as “genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
Melissa Barrera, 2013 [Photo by Melissa y Sebastian en el Concierto Exa Puebla 2013 / CC BY 3.0]
Spyglass Media Group, the film and television production and finance company, in defense of the victimization, claimed that the company’s position was “unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”
Spyglass lies through its teeth. There is nothing in any of Barrera’s posts on social media that even hints at antisemitism. The company is defending Israeli war crimes and passing this off as opposition to supposedly “false references to genocide”—Spyglass doesn’t attempt to explain why they are “false” in the face of the driving out of 1 million or more people from northern Gaza and the killing of tens of thousands—and “hate speech.”
Many of Barrera’s posts are simply items taken from the news, demonstrating the character of the Israeli onslaught and pointing to the lies and anti-Palestinian, fascistic filth coming directly from the Netanyahu regime itself.
Her own comments reflect what a large portion of the world’s population already thinks and feels, sympathy for the population of Gaza and revulsion at Israel’s actions, contrary to the self-delusion of the isolated, wealthy Hollywood establishment, where support for imperialist violence in every part of the globe reigns supreme.
Barrera writes, for example: “I love my Jewish friends. I stand with you in these horrible times. I empathize with your fear and pain. No one deserves to be persecuted or attacked. I know that a lot of Jewish people are not ok with what the government of Israel is doing … Jewish children are dying. Innocent Jewish people are dying. Palestinian children are dying and have been dying for decades. Innocent Palestinians are and have been dying for decades. Not always because of bombs, but because they live in a prison and have had vital resources limited.”
On another occasion, Barrera commented: “If you’re wondering how the world watched when genocides and ethnic cleansing happened—this is how. We read about it and watch documentaries and think ‘how did nobody do anything?!’ Like this! It’s happening now. Nobody’s stopping it.” So much for her antisemitism and “Holocaust distortion”!