Standing up to Silence

Jun 9, 2026 by The Jewish Voice And Opinion Staff

By Gary Morgenstein

I’ve been in love with the movies since I was a little boy, a fat, nearsighted loner in a dysfunctional family where threats to drive oneself off the Triboro Bridge were standard dinner-table conversation. Fleeing every week to the Kent Theater on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, I drowned out the misery of my life by escaping into these magical cinema worlds where I could imagine I was someone else. That’s how I became a writer.

But now my beloved movies have turned their backs on me because I’m a Jew.

For more than 25 years, I was a proud member of BAFTA, the British Association of Film and Televisión Arts. I embraced movies from around the world by loyally attending screenings, talkbacks, and diligently voting for the Orange Awards, the British version of the Oscars.

Never Condemned Hamas

Shortly after October 7, I wrote BAFTA asking why they never condemned the Hamas attack. They responded by condemning antisemitism and Islamophobia, an insidious moral equivalency, whitewashing the unpleasant fact that only Jews were the target of genocide that day—and all the subsequent days.

I kept hoping the entertainment industry and the world would wake up to the antisemitism.

Since then, antisemitism in the British entertainment industry has surged as famous stars, including Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Charles Dance (with whom I once worked), abused their platforms—as artists, not social critics—to attack world Jewry.

Effective June 1, I resigned my membership.

In the U.S. Too

Sadly, this infestation is also well entrenched on my side of the pond.

The Dramatists Guild only disapproved gun violence—not the guns that killed Jews. I resigned that membership. The Writers Guild of America/West Coast deliberated for 17 days before deciding, yeah, raping and torturing Jewish women isn’t cool. Gee, thanks.

Hollywood, America’s greatest native art form, founded by Jews, has remained largely silent. Only a few brave actors, such as Jerry Seinfeld, Debra Messing, David Schwimmer, Gal Gadot and Michael Rappaport, have repeatedly spoken out.

Could It Have Been Different?

Let’s try a little alternative history. What if on October 8, powerful and influential entertainment Jews had stormed the airwaves, newspapers, magazines, podcasts, and social media with outrage? What if they’d given speeches at colleges and universities, petitioned politicians, spoken before Congress? What if they’d produced movies, documentaries, and television series about what happened on October 7?

How much different would Jew hatred in America and (formerly Great) Britain—and the world—have been if the antisemites had seen real opposition?

But they didn’t. As Martin Luther King said, “In the end, we do not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

A Small Drop

So how can I remain a member of an industry organization like BAFTA? How can I give them money and vote for their films?

It breaks my heart, but I won’t go to movie theaters anymore. If a film or TV series featuring artists who hate me comes on my streaming subscriptions, I’ll reach for the remote.

Still, that doesn’t seem like much, does it? Will BAFTA, or The Dramatists Guild, or Warner Brothers go bankrupt from my boycott? No. But should that be the measurement?

Hitting Home

On a recent Shabbos morning, the Brooklyn Half-Marathon ran right past my door. I was about to go to shul when my wife looked out the window and asked, “Why are the Democratic Socialists of America out there?”

I straightened my kippah, grabbed my Israeli flag, and stood directly across the road from the Marxists, about 30 of them, gathered on a grassy area. Holding up signs saying “Cheer for Palestine” and “From the River to the Sea,” along with their usual popular tunes.

All alone, I held up my flag and stared silently. They took notice and filmed me. I’m probably on a Hamas YouTube channel. But I said nothing, no confrontation, just a silent vigil. Many of the runners racing between us eagerly responded to the DSA signs and exhortations. Then, marathoners began noticing me. They slowed down. Some smiled. Actually, a lot of them smiled at the meshugganah Jew.

They shook my hand, took selfies, or raised their fists with cries of “Good Shabbos” and “Am Yisrael Chai.” After nearly an hour, the Marathon ended. I waved at the Marxists and said, “Good Shabbos, I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

What Did I Accomplish?

But what did the Baby Boomer in a black Chabad yarmulke holding up the flag of Israel accomplish? Perhaps that it takes only one person to confront hatred. Or light Shabbos candles. Post on social media. Resign from an organization. Publicly identify as a Jew in some way, any way, because they sure as hell publicly identify us.

Remember, there are no small mitzvahs because we never know where they’ll lead. As The Ethics of the Fathers says, “The reward of one mitzvah is another.”

Mr. Morgenstein is an award-winning novelist and playwright.