Joaquin Phoenix and Joel Coen among Jewish creatives backing Glazer's Oscars speech

Pair sign open letter with more than 150 Hollywood figures supporting British director

Oscar winners Joaquin Phoenix, left, and Joel Coen, right, are publicly backing Jonathan Glazer after his speech 'refuting his Jewishness' following the war in Gaza. EPA; Getty Images

Oscar winners Joaquin Phoenix and Joel Coen lead a group of more than 150 Jewish Hollywood figures publicly backing director Jonathan Glazer's controversial speech.

The pair have signed an open letter alongside the likes of comedian David Cross, three-time Oscar nominee Debra Winger and Titanic actress Frances Fisher. In it, they state they are “alarmed to see some of our colleagues in the industry mischaracterise and denounce his remarks” and that “attacks on Glazer are a dangerous distraction from Israel’s escalating military campaign which has already killed over 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza and brought hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation".

It also refers to grieving for the 1,200 Israelis killed in the October 7 Hamas attacks as well as the 253 taken hostage. However, it further states that attacks on Glazer have a “silencing effect” on the industry and contribute to the suppression of free speech and dissent.

It continues: “Glazer, Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg and countless other artists of all backgrounds have decried the killing of Palestinian civilians. We should all be able to do the same without being wrongly accused of fueling antisemitism.

“We honour the Holocaust by saying: Never again for anyone.”

What Glazer said during his Oscars speech

The Zone of Interest, a German-language film set during the Holocaust, won the Best International Film award at this year's Oscars.

During his acceptance speech, Glazer said the film showed “where dehumanisation leads at its worst”.

He added: “All our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present – not to say: 'Look what they did then', rather: 'Look what we do now'."

The film tells the disturbing story of a group of people living near the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-controlled Poland during the Second World War, who block out the horrors happening nearby and lead apparently normal lives.

“Our film shows where dehumanisation leads at its worst,” Glazer continued. “It shaped all of our pasts and present. Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation that has led to conflict for so many innocent people.

“Whether the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanisation. How do we resist?”

His words were met with both backlash and praise. In a different open letter on March 18, more than 450 Jewish creatives and execs denounced his speech for helping “fuel growing anti-Jewish hatred around the world.”

Who signed the letter of support?

1. Lenny Abrahamson
2. Ra’anan Alexandrowicz
3. Erin Allweiss
4. Mark Asch
5. Liran Atzmor
6. Erin Axelman
7. Annie Baker
8. Todd Banhazl
9. Ariela Barer
10. Morgan Bassichis
11. Joshuah Bearman
12. Abner Benaim
13. Amy Berg
14. Kate Berlant
15. Gregg Bordowitz
16. Agnes Borinsky
17. Janicza Bravo
18. Margaret Brown
19. Dan Bucatinsky
20. Simone Bitton
21. Daniel Chalfen
22. Joel Coen
23. Dan Cogan
24. Dominic Cooke
25. Molly Crabapple
26. David Cross
27. Cyrus Dunham
28. David Ehrlich
29. Deborah Eisenberg
30. Isaac Feldberg
31. Chloe Fineman
32. Jordan Firstman
33. Frances Fisher
34. Sarah Sophie Flicker
35. Esther Freud
36. Bella Freud
37. Uri Fruchtmann
38. Noah Galvin
39. Sarah Gavron
40. Tavi Gevinson
41. Ilana Glazer
42. Natalie Gold
43. Sam Gold
44. Jimmy Goldblum
45. Daniel Goldhaber
46. Nan Goldin
47. Josh Gondelman
48. Josh Gordon
49. Elliott Gould
50. Miles Greenberg
51. Doron Max Hagay
52. Gordon Hall
53. Todd Haynes
54. Fred Hechinger
55. Lee Hirsch
56. Eliza Hittman
57. Nicole Holofcener
58. Ilan Isakov
59. Abbi Jacobson
60. Kristi Jacobson
61. Rachel Leah Jones
62. Miranda July
63. David Katznelson
64. Deborah Kaufman
65. Ella Kemp
66. Sara Kiener
67. Lola Kirke
68. Dan Kitrosser
69. Alison Klayman
70. Naomi Klein
71. Pamela Koffler
72. Jess Kohl
73. Maris Kreizman
74. Lisa Kron
75. Justin Kuritzkes
76. Rachel Kushner
77. Serge Lalou
78. Nadav Lapid
79. Julliette Larthe
80. Michael Lieberman
81. Alison Leiby
82. Mike Leigh
83. Cindi Leive
84. Jonathan Lethem
85. Mica Levi
86. Avi Lewis
87. Kyle Lukoff
88. Darius Marder
89. Miriam Margolyes
90. Sam Marks
91. Daniel Mate
92. Gabor Mate
93. Jane Mayle
94. Jonathan Meth
95. Lise Mayer
96. Collier Meyerson
97. Avi Mograbi
98. Sophie Monks Kaufman
99. Mik Moore
100. Michael Morris
101. Hari Nef
102. Chani Nicholas
103. David Osit
104. Nira Park
105. Zeena Parkins
106. Joaquin Phoenix
107. Rain Phoenix
108. Max Posner
109. Jeff Preiss
110. Sarah Ramos
111. Allon Reich
112. Leo Reich
113. Boots Riley
114. Howard A Rodman
115. Jon Ronson
116. Jacqueline Rose
117. Martin Rosenbaum
118. Jason Rosenberg
119. Tessa Ross
120. Ira Sachs
121. Tilly Scantlebury
122. James Schamus
123. Jane Schoenbrun
124. Sarah Schulman
125. Emma Seligman
126. Wallace Shawn
127. Mel Shimkowitz
128. Noam Shuster Eliassi
129. Amy Sillman
130. Nathan Silver
131. Michael Skolnik
132. Gillian Slovo
133. Robyn Slovo
134. Shawn Slovo
135. Sarah Adina Smith
136. Alan Snitow
137. Morgan Spector
138. Tom Stoppard
139. Kae Tempest
140. Lynne Tillman
141. Rachel Traub
142. V (formerly Eve Ensler)
143. Alicia Van Couvering
144. Adam Weber
145. Madeline Weinstein
146. Debra Winger
147. Matt Wolf
148. Jeremy Yaches
149. Gary Yershon
150. Jeremiah Zagar
151. Alexander Zeldin