By Jose Alejandro Bastidas

As the conflict between Israel and Gaza continued to escalate, Israelis and their allies in Hollywood pleaded for support and said they were riven with anxiety for the well-being of friends and family.

“Some of the immediate reaction is disbelief, rage and anger. And I think I’ve settled in over the last 24 hours to just immense sadness,” said Casting Networks co-CEO Rafi Gordon, who was born and raised in Israel before moving to the United States as a teenager. “This feels like a 9/11 kind of moment, where I don’t know what normal is on the other side of this.”