Endeavor and TKO CEO Ari Emanuel condemned the Hamas terrorist attacks that have killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and at least 1,055 people in Gaza as of Wednesday.
“It’s not the same as 9/11, but I had that same feeling… As a Jew, what happened in Israel this past weekend was one of the worst pogroms in history, not including the Holocaust,” Emanuel said while speaking at Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday. “My grandmother escaped Bolsheviks. That happened. It was even worse than that because we didn’t have to escape — now we have a country with great militaries great intelligence apparatus.”
In his solidarity with Israel, however, Emanuel remained critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he called “morally corrupt,” stating that he “exposed Israel to rape and beheadings of babies, children,”
“And he did it to stay in power,” Emanuel continued. “He nominated the minister of Homeland Security that didn’t even serve the mandatory military term required by Israel. You now have a second minister of defense who barely was a soldier. He fired the minister who was a general and had to bring it back because of public pressure. [He] refused to meet with key military figures to try to change the supreme court because he has to keep himself out of jail.”
These actions, Emanuel said, has led to “a vulnerability that is unprecedented” for Israel, comparing the massacre to “30,000 Americans dying in 9/11.”
“I just think it’s time that we get rid of this man,” he concluded.
Emanuel is among a slew of Hollywood power players speaking out about the widespread atrocities of Israel’s war with Hamas, including Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who called the terrorist attack on “innocent men, women, children and babies” “unimaginable, abhorrent and inexcusable” in a memo to staffers. Amid the “unthinkable evil,” Zaslav also commended CNN and TVN employees for “reporting on the events in the region and bearing witness for the world and for history.”
“Many have lost their lives and others have been taken hostage and remain unaccounted for,” the executive wrote in the Tuesday memo. “Our hearts break for all those whose lives have been irrevocably and senselessly impacted by these vile acts of terror. Our company’s founders believed it was their duty to shed light on injustice in the world.”
Other companies across entertainment have similarly issued statements internally and externally condemning the attacks and providing opportunities to help those impacted by the war, including Lionsgate, who said it will match donations from employees up to $1,000 per fiscal year per employee, with a minimum donation amount of $25. UTA, CAA and WME also issues statements.
