According to the cultural correspondent of Tasnim News Agency, the famous Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo responded to Paramount’s accusation of anti-Semitism, saying: “The accusation of anti-Semitism against me is shocking and fundamentally false. Criticizing the actions of the Israeli Prime Minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who provide this technology is in no way meant to be criticizing the Jewish people.”
Ruffalo has once again made headlines in recent days as one of Hollywood’s anti-Israel figures who launched serious protests against the regime after Israel’s war on Gaza and its genocide.
Ruffalo, who is an opponent of the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, accused Oracle, Paramount’s parent company, of financially supporting Israel as an apartheid regime.
The actor posted a video on Saturday, August 21, 2020, of Paramount board member Safra Katz talking about the “really deeply scary technologies” that Oracle used to help the Israeli military after the October 7 terrorist attack.
Ruffalo went on to describe Ellison Sr. (owner of Oracle) as a “classic oligarch” and warned about the potential consequences of the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger.
“This merger has real consequences for real people and for the entire country. It is a fair and necessary step to scrutinize the Ellison family’s activities, including Oracle’s data-driven business, surveillance technology, and government contracts, as well as the serious threat to editorial freedom and the loss of livelihoods for thousands of families,” he added.
Ruffalo also said: “This $111 billion deal will give control of CNN, HBO and Warner Bros. to one family, backed in part by foreign capital whose influence on editorial decisions has not yet been fully explained to the public.”
But Ruffalo’s comments did not go unanswered, and Paramount accused him of anti-Semitism, a method that anti-Israel protesters have previously used as a way to escape reality.
Mark Ruffalo has hit back at Paramount after it accused the actor of “anti-Semitism” after Ruffalo accused David and Larry Ellison of “empowering some of the most destructive and inhumane forces in the world.”
But Ruffalo wrote on Sunday, September 2, after being accused of anti-Semitism on the social network X: “The accusation of anti-Semitism against me is shocking and fundamentally false. Criticizing the actions of the Israeli Prime Minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who provide this technology is in no way meant to be a criticism of the Jewish people. This critical and necessary dialogue is being dishonestly presented as opposition to Israel.”
He continued: “To be clear, my views are based on my own political beliefs and should never be interpreted as hostility towards the Jewish people, a people I deeply love and respect. Everything I know about acting, social activism, and humanitarianism has been deeply influenced by my Jewish friends, colleagues, and loved ones, who have been an integral part of my life and family at all stages of my life.”
