Schindler’s List director says in speech marking 30th anniversary of the USC Shoah Foundation that he is alarmed that ‘we may … once again have to fight for the very right to be Jewish’.
In remarks reported by Deadline, Spielberg said: “Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. I am increasingly alarmed that we may be condemned to repeat history – to once again have to fight for the very right to be Jewish.”
He added: “The echoes of history are unmistakable in our current climate. The rise of extremist views has created a dangerous environment, and radical intolerance leads a society to no longer celebrate differences but instead conspire to demonise those who are different to the point of creating ‘the Other’… This is happening alongside anti-Muslim, Arab, and Sikh discrimination. The creation of ‘the Other’ and the dehumanisation of any group based on their differences, is the foundation of fascism.”
Spielberg also directly addressed the current conflict in Gaza for the first time, saying: “We can rage against the heinous acts committed by the terrorists of October 7th and also decry the killing of innocent women and children in Gaza.”
Disappointing language… Describing one as heinous, then following with decry makes the far larger scale atrocities in that conflict come across as a tacked on footnote in his speech. While its essentially a genocide happening as we speak, by the people who claim to lead the people he was speaking about.
Felt like it was going somewhere only to end with weakness.