Letter: Hollywood’s Ten Commandments

Dear editor:

Thanks to the writer who so vehemently called out Hollywood’s anti-Israel agenda. (Opinion: Hollywood’s Ten Commandments, BJN 8/16/26.) I have no qualms about anything he wrote, except to try and mitigate the painful points presented with a bit of more positive perspectives. There are a growing number of actors, writers, and related personalities that ARE coming out in support and defense of Israel and the Jewish people, even when the careers and even the lives of these personalities are put in jeopardy.

I would like to name just a few, both well-known and not so well-known, Jewish and otherwise: Andy Garcia, Brook Shields, Dr. Phil, Dwayne Johnson, Geraldo Rivera, Harlan Coben, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mayim Bialik, Kim Kardashian, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Hamill, Modi Rosenfeld, Pink, U2, Chris Pine, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Douglas, Gal Gadot, etc etc…Anyone can google many other figures and influencers who dare to speak out on behalf of our tiny but impactful nation.

I point these names out not to detract from the intensity of the protest in the previous article, but to mitigate any despair that might arise from the readers of that article. Judaism puts a very strong stress on finding the light even in darkest situations. As I am fond of quoting from Mr. Rogers, ‘Look for the helpers.’ I believe, as did the famous Rav Kook, and Rabbi Steinsaltz, that there are aspects of holiness in even secular creativity that need to be brought out and nurtured, and can even lead to cosmic redemption.

 May the positive opinions grow louder and may the nay-sayers not only change their tone but be transformed into voices who realize how much Judaism and Israel have contributed to the material, emotional, psychological, and spiritual well-being of the civilized world!

Morah Yehudis