Thirdly, I’m growing tired of this trend of campaigns demanding that a specific famous person “speak out” about a specific thing when they haven’t up until that point (We’ve now seen this demand made of Taylor Swift, by those on both sides of the Mideast conflict.) These demands are always made assuming that the person will say exactly what those m... See more

After the current phase of the fighting is over, there will still be Israelis, and there will still be Palestinians, and neither is going to give up on their ambitions to live in their homeland.

I’m one of those people who, ever since the war in Israel and Gaza started, has often found myself mad at people both to my left and my right.

Secondly, Steven Spielberg has done a lot, perhaps more than any other American Jew, to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and the stories of Holocaust survivors, through his work with the USC Shoah Foundation. He’s earned more than a little bit of goodwill and latitude that most people have not. And if he were going to speak up, it probably woul... See more

And perhaps most importantly, where is the assumption coming from that Spielberg speaking out would make any difference at all, and that not doing so would amount to “a comfort for our enemies”? Why would Hamas care what Steven Spielberg thinks? Do you think if Spielberg (or Taylor Swift) asked for the hostages to be released, Hamas would be moved ... See more

I think Steven Spielberg has earned the right to speak out about political causes, and to make the movies he wants to make, on his own terms using his own judgment. And he certainly should not be accused of complicity with evil, if he chooses to do neither.