The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has postponed an event for new members scheduled for Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israelis, in the wake of pushback from Jewish members who sent an open letter to Academy leadership.
“We are postponing the Monday, Oct. 7, New York New Member Reception to a later date,” the Academy said in a statement Thursday morning. “It is important to us that everyone feel comfortable and secure at our events.” The organization said it will set a new date.
TheWrap has obtained the open letter, which was organized by Seth Fradkoff, SVP of publicity at Amazon MGM Studios, and Lisa Zaks Markowitz, VP of national publicity at Sony. The letter says the Academy ignored initial calls sent through “proper channels” to reschedule the event, until it formally turned down the request this week.
“We, the undersigned, will now speak honestly of our disappointment with the Academy leadership this fall. Specifically holding the New York New Members’ reception on Oct. 7, one year to the day of the Hamas Massacre that killed over 1,300 Israelis and injured over 3,300 more; and with 101 hostages unaccounted for,” the letter says in part.
“When the Academy Class of 2024 received their acceptance letters, the modern, inclusive and diverse global mission was made loud and clear. As an organization, The Academy stated that they are ‘committed to uniting the world through cinema.’ However, with this disappointing decision, you are doing just the opposite,” the letter continues. “We trust that the Academy will move forward in ways promised years ago; with respect for our differences as storytellers and all those who support them.”
The outcry followed the debacle at the Academy Museum in June, when an exhibit over Hollywood’s Jewish founders sparked accusations of antisemitism due to extremely pejorative and, in some cases, stereotypical descriptions of moguls like Jack Warner and Carl Laemmle, among other elements.
Making things more awkward, the exhibit had been created specifically to address complaints that the museum had practically ignored the specific role Jewish people played in the rise of the entertainment industry when it opened in 2021.
The Academy quickly moved to remove those offensive aspects of the exhibit, but the uproar continued into July.
Read the full letter, below:
To the Academy,
At this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, Academy Award-winner Barbra Streisand proudly tributed the Jewish immigrants who founded our industry.
She passionately stated, “I can’t help but think back to the people who built this industry…Samuel Goldwyn, Louis B. Mayer and the four Warner Brothers…were all fleeing the prejudice they faced in Eastern Europe, simply because of their religion. They were dreamers, too, like all of us…I dream of a world where such prejudice is a thing of the past.”
We had hoped that the Academy leadership would support this dream and help eradicate such prejudice. When opening the Academy Museum, Bill Kramer, then museum director, said “We need to speak honestly about who we are as an industry,” and yet the museum opened without any mention of the Jewish founders of Hollywood.
We, the undersigned, will now speak honestly of our disappointment with the Academy leadership, this fall. Specifically holding the New York New Members’ reception on October 7th, one year to the day of the Hamas Massacre that killed over 1,300 Israelis and injured over 3,300 more; and with 101 hostages unaccounted for.
When the Academy Class of 2024 received their acceptance letters, the modern, inclusive and diverse global mission was made loud and clear. As an organization The Academy stated that they are “committed to uniting the world through cinema.” However, with this disappointing decision, you are doing just the opposite.
After respectfully reaching out through proper channels to urge the Academy to move this event, the request went unanswered for days. This week, we were told that the event will go on as scheduled for new members in New York, the home to the largest Jewish population in the United States.
While we may not all agree with government politics, we can all agree that films still have the power to affect lives and effect positive change in the world.
We, members of the Academy and industry, Jewish and allies, are making our voices heard. The lack of respect, sympathy and support for all those affected on October 7th, 2023 and since October 7th, is yet another example of the Academy ignoring just what it has promised to change.
We trust that the Academy will move forward in ways promised years ago; with respect for our differences as storytellers and all those who support them.
We ask you to please do better. We know you can.
