Over 5,000 Hollywood and Academic Figures Reject Israel Genocide Claims, Warning of Rising Antisemitism

More than 5,000 figures from entertainment, academia, politics, literature and public life have signed an open letter rejecting the description of Israel's actions in Gaza as 'genocide' and warning that the accusation is contributing to antisemitism around the world.

The letter, released through Creative Community for Peace, has attracted prominent names including former Paramount executives Shari Redstone and Sherry Lansing, actors Debra Messing, Mayim Bialik and Jennifer Jason Leigh, historian Niall Ferguson, Harvard professor Steven Pinker and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The signatories argue that criticism of Israel is legitimate but that describing Israel as genocidal crosses a line they believe can endanger Jewish communities.

More Than 5,000 Figures Sign Open Letter

The campaign was organised by Creative Community for Peace alongside authors and academics Yossi Klein Halevi, Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, Rabbi Micha Odenheimer and Jonathan Karp, a professor of history and Judaic studies at Binghamton University.

According to the organisers, the signatories come from a wide range of professions, including film and television, academia, journalism, business, religion and politics. The letter argues that the accusation against Israel has become a form of collective scapegoating against Jews.

Among those listed are entertainment figures such as Debra Messing and Mayim Bialik, while the academic contingent includes scholars including Deborah Lipstadt, Niall Ferguson, Steven Pinker and Benny Morris.

The organisers stressed that individuals signed in their personal capacities and were not necessarily speaking on behalf of their employers or affiliated organisations.

Letter Says Genocide Accusation Fuels Antisemitism

A central argument of the letter is that the term 'genocide' should not be used simply as another description for the devastating consequences of war.

The signatories argue that genocide requires a specific intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. They maintain that Hamas, rather than Israel, entered the conflict with an intention to destroy its opponent, and they reject the suggestion that Israel's military campaign demonstrates genocidal intent.

The letter also warns that repeatedly portraying Israel as a genocidal state can contribute to hostility towards Jews more broadly.

Its authors distinguish between criticism of Israel and what they consider antisemitic rhetoric, saying opposition to the Israeli government should remain possible without attributing collective guilt to Jewish people.

UN Commission Has Reached a Different Conclusion

The open letter arrives amid a deeply contested international debate over the legal description of Israel's conduct in Gaza.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry reached a substantially different conclusion in September 2025, finding that Israeli authorities and security forces had committed four acts defined as genocide under the Genocide Convention and had the required intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, in whole or in part. The commission reiterated that assessment in June 2026.

The UN finding is therefore important context when describing the new letter: the signatories are rejecting an accusation that a UN investigative commission has made, rather than disputing an allegation for which no international body has reached a conclusion.

The commission's findings remain separate from the positions expressed by the letter's authors and signatories.

Hollywood Is Increasingly Divided Over Gaza

The new letter is also the latest sign of a growing split within Hollywood over Israel and the Gaza war.

In 2025, more than 5,000 film workers signed a separate pledge organised by Film Workers for Palestine, promising not to work with Israeli film institutions they believed were implicated in genocide and apartheid. Actors and filmmakers including Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo and others backed that campaign.

A rival group subsequently gathered more than 1,200 entertainment figures to reject the boycott, demonstrating how sharply divided the industry had become.

The latest letter expands that argument beyond Hollywood, bringing academics, historians and political figures into an increasingly public dispute over language, Israel, antisemitism and the war in Gaza.

A Debate That Shows No Sign of Ending

The competing campaigns demonstrate just how difficult it has become for public figures to discuss Israel and Gaza without becoming part of a wider political and cultural battle.

Supporters of the latest letter argue that rejecting the genocide accusation is necessary to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish communities from collective blame. Critics, meanwhile, argue that accusing Israel of genocide can be a legitimate response to documented conduct and that challenging the accusation should not automatically be framed as defending Jews from antisemitism.

With thousands of prominent figures now publicly taking opposing positions, the dispute is likely to remain one of the most divisive political issues within Hollywood and academia.