Alarmed by the Israel-Hamas war and a rising tide of hate directed at Jews, prominent entertainment industry creatives and executives have formed a nonprofit organization devoted to combatting antisemitism.
The Entertainment Alliance to Fight Antisemitism has come together in the past few weeks following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel and the shocking rise in antisemitic incidents in the U.S. Nearly 2,000 members of the creative community have signed a pledge that condemns discrimination and affirms Israel’s right to exist.
“Just as we have bonded together to fight other forms of hatred and bigotry, we stand united in our pledge to fight antisemitism wherever it appears. We have seen what happens when unbridled Jew-hatred goes unchecked. We pledge to not let that happen on our watch,” the pledge reads in part.
Among the members and organizers of the EAFA are showrunners Howard Gordon and Hank Steinberg and director Kimberly Peirce. The group is assembling its funding and looking to hire an executive leader who will be tasked with working with existing anti-hate organizations and pursuing outreach campaigns through media and entertainment channels.
“As devastating at it has been to witness the unabashed display of vitriolic antisemitism here and abroad, being part of the groundswell of support in what has become something like a grassroots movement, has given us all hope and purpose,” Peirce told Variety.
The EAFA was born out of the same alarm that spurred the Anti Defamation League in September to establish its Media and Entertainment Institute with the goal of engaging industry insiders on the persistence of antisemitic and hateful tropes in pop culture.
“The EAFA came together as a collective call to action to confront the rising tide of antisemitism, not just within the entertainment industry, but around the world,” Gordon told Variety.
Gordon, Peirce, Steinberg and other organizers conceived the EAFA pledge days after the start of the Israel-Hamas war. It gathered 1,500 signatures in 48 hours. Among the other notables who have signed on are actors Ben Stiller, Claire Danes, Andy Garcia, showrunners Greg Berlanti, Courtney Kemp, executives John Landgraf and Susan Rovner, producers Warren Littlefield and Jason Blum, songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristin Anderson-Lopez and top agents including CAA’s Joe Cohen and WME’s Rick Rosen. The group is solidly nonpartisan, focusing on advocacy around antisemitism rather than politics or policy issues.
The EAFA’s early goals include encouraging studios, networks, streamers, talent agencies and other industry constituencies to invest in training to raise awareness of hateful stereotypes and other forms of discrimination against Jews.
“The group is already reaching out to studios, networks, streaming platforms, and to guilds and unions who, so far, have been incredibly receptive to committing to fighting antisemitism in the workplace and in the representation of Jews in film and television,” Steinberg told Variety.
Here is the full text of the EAFA pledge:
We, the undersigned writers, directors, actors, producers, musicians, songwriters, crew, representatives, executives, and other entertainment industry professionals are alarmed by the growing wave of antisemitism that is spreading around the world, across our nation, through our college campuses, and in our industry.
We recognize that Jews have a right to live and learn and work without fear of violence and harassment. We recognize the right of Israel to exist. Just as we have bonded together to fight other forms of hatred and bigotry, we stand united in our pledge to fight antisemitism wherever it appears. We have seen what happens when unbridled Jew-hatred goes unchecked. We pledge to not let that happen on our watch.