Israel-Hamas War Sows Division Within Entertainment Industry
A midshow spat between comedian Dave Chapelle and a fan. Division within the writers’ union after months of solidarity. Private discussions among Hollywood executives and stars about antisemitism.
The entertainment industry is grappling with the same debates over Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks and Israel’s response that are playing out on college campuses, in offices and among friends. Last week Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger was part of a group of industry executives, actors and writers who gathered at the Bel-Air home of Daniel Loeb, chief executive of the hedge fund Third Point, to discuss antisemitism.
Other attendees included the journalist Bari Weiss, who spoke to the gathering, “Euphoria" creator Sam Levinson, playwright David Mamet and actor Chris Pine, according to people familiar with the event. Loeb also was a sponsor of an antisemitism conference held in Los Angeles last week hosted by the entertainment publication Variety. Both events were planned before the Oct.
7 attack on Israel, motivated by growing concern about the rise of antisemitism in the U.S. The conflict has sowed division among movie and television writers who were united for months in demanding new contract protections from studios—and celebrating hard-fought concessions. Several prominent Jewish writers have expressed anger and disappointment at the Writers Guild of America for not issuing a statement condemning the attacks.
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