The Israeli Writers Guild has expressed its outrage that Hollywood’s Writers Guild of America (WGA) has delivered cold silence to the bloody terror attack Hamas committed on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7.
The Screenwriters Guild of Israel blasted the WGA for lacking the courage to call out terror when it is committed, Variety revealed.
“The Screen Writers Guild of Israel [SGI] is shocked and appalled by the lack of courage from its fellow American guilds to take a clear stand on the events of October 7,” guild chairman Nadav Ben Simon said in an open letter to the WGA. “Your silence is loud and clear and is completely contrasted by the loud support demanded from the SGI and their members just a few weeks ago.”
“It is a shame that a professional writers’ guild cannot reach a consensus and find the words to condemn an act of terrorism, an unprovoked crime against humanity, against innocent civilians, women, children, the disabled and the elderly,”” the SGI’s letter added. ““It is a shame that a professional writers’ guild cannot find in their hearts enough courage to speak out against a terrorist organization that is currently holding 200 hostages, some of them toddlers and babies, snatched from their cribs as their mothers were raped in the same room, in front of their eyes.”
“It is a damn shame that a professional writers’ guild decides to withhold words. To keep utterly silent. To not take a stand. Well, your silence is considered a stand, picking a side. A shame,” the SGI exclaimed.
The SGI is not alone, though. Several American members of the WGA have also criticized the guild for refusing to make a statement in support of Israel.
Twenty-two members of the WGA cooperated on a letter scolding the WGA for its silence on the attacks in Israel.
Signatories on the letter include Eli Roth, Mike Weiss, Amy Chozick, Ellen Rapoport, and Seth Fisher, Variety said in a separate report.
The WGA members pointed out that the guild was quick to speak out for Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo movement.
“But when terrorists invaded Israel to murder, rape, and kidnap Jews… the Guild stayed silent,” they group of writers said in their letter. “It remains the only major Hollywood union to do so.”
“The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people is complex and full of nuance, but the crimes committed on October 7th were simple and cruel,” the writers added. “If we cannot stand up to call it what it is — a monstrous act of barbarity — then we have lost the plot.”
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