Hollywood’s Ten Commandments

By: Ron Jager

The Hollywood film “The Ten Commandments” (1956) is an epic biblical drama based on the Book of Exodus that dramatizes the life of Moses, born a Hebrew baby, yet adopted and brought up as an Egyptian prince. Despite his upbringing, Moses becomes the deliverer of his people, the enslaved Hebrews, leading them out of Egypt and to Mount Sinai where he received the Ten Commandments from Hashem. Had this film been released during the current era with Hollywood’s progressive crop of celebrities embracing an anti-Israel woke agenda, how much different would the story unfold?

No doubt they would depict Moses coming down from Mount Sinai holding two tablets: iPad 1 and iPad 2.

Many of Hollywood’s leading actors have in recent years adopted a consistent anti-Israel agenda, with many critics claiming that their declarations have a stench of anti-Semitism masquerading as criticism of the Jews and the State of Israel. Recently, Javier Bardem, a vocal critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, repeatedly characterized them as a “documented genocide.” He has used major international platforms, including red carpets, award shows, and festival appearances, to call for diplomatic blockades and sanctions against Israel. Bardem has worn a traditional Palestinian keffiyeh at high-profile events like the Emmy Awards and stated from international stages (like the Oscars): “No to war and free Palestine.” Jennifer Lawrence has actively spoken out against Israel’s defensive war in Gaza. At a press conference for her new film “Die My Love” at the San Sebastián film festival, when asked about Israel’s violence in Gaza, Lawrence replied: “I’m terrified. It’s mortifying. What’s happening is no less than a genocide and it’s terrible.” Actor Mark Ruffalo has been a highly vocal critic of the Israeli government, strongly condemning its military actions in Gaza as a “genocide” and a “man-made disaster.” He has labeled defensive military operations and blockades as “ethnic cleansing,” “forced displacement,” and deliberate starvation.

The idea that Hollywood is uniformly hostile to Jewish people and Israel stands in sharp contrast to the industry’s roots as a uniquely Jewish industry. The founders of Hollywood turned to cinema because they faced discrimination and were barred from traditional American industries like law, banking, and civil engineering. Jews built the industry from the ground up in a manner that was dismissed by the elite of the United States, the Anglo-Saxons in those days. These Jewish entrepreneurs brought business skills from industries like vaudeville and agenting to establish major studios. Jewish writers, directors, and actors have been highly influential in shaping American cinema for over a century.

Adolph Zukor, one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures, was a Jew from Hungary. Another Jew from Hungary, William Fox (Vilmos Fried), founded Fox Film Corporation. Louis B. Mayer, born in Russia, co-founded Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with another Jew, this one from Austria, Marcus Loew. Warner Bros. was founded by the Jewish Warner brothers: Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack, three of whom were born in Poland (Jack was born in Canada). With David Sarnoff, a Russian Jew who helped engineer the creation of RKO, these were the five major studios of Hollywood’s Golden Age. In addition, two of the three minor studios of the time, Universal Pictures and Columbia, were founded and run by Jews. Carl Laemmle, one of the founders of Universal Pictures, was a German Jew while Harry and Jack Cohn, along with Joe Brandt were Jews from New York City who founded Columbia Pictures.

During Hollywood’s heyday, classic movies shaped American culture: “Ben-Hur” (1959), “Spartacus” (1960), “The Ten Commandments” (1956), “Gone with the Wind” (1939), “Citizen Kane” (1941), and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967) are only the tip of the iceberg and are still considered cinematic masterpieces generations after their premieres. Hollywood didn’t shy away from dealing with anti-Semitism or the establishment of the State of Israel by producing films that made a major impact on American attitudes and culture, such as “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947), “Exodus” (1960), and “Schindler’s List” (1993).

Today’s Hollywood leading actors who speak against Israel’s right to defend her borders refuse to accept the simple truth that Israel’s wars have been wars of self-defense in accordance with international law. Israel does not target civilians but does indeed target military assets such as armed combatants, terrorists, rocket launchers, terrorist headquarters, and other infrastructure used in a military capacity. Any civilians killed during these operations are a tragedy, but by no measure constitutes genocide or ethnic cleansing. It’s also important to remind Hollywood that genocide and ethnic cleansing always result in a significant decline in the local population. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 1948, the Palestinian population in Israel, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza totaled 1.4 million people. Today, that total is 5.5 million, approximately 2 million Arabs in Israel, 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank, and 778,000 Palestinians in Gaza. This undeniable statistic belies any claims of genocide or ethnic cleansing against Palestinians, but seems to evade the attention and basic common sense of Javier Bardem, Jennifer Lawrence, Mark Ruffalo, and many other Hollywood actors.

I feel deeply disappointed that Hollywood has devolved into a hotbed of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel propaganda, an organ of the false and libelous Progressive media that spreads the message that Israel is the enemy of humanity. For almost three years, Israel has been at war on seven fronts. Javier Bardem, Jennifer Lawrence, and Mark Ruffalo and many others in Hollywood have not voiced a word of support, not a single word of encouragement to the people of Israel, not a word condemning the Hamas terrorists who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023 and murdered over 1,200 innocent Jewish civilians, the worst massacre since the Holocaust. Every nation has the right to defend itself, but these terrorist apologists hold Israel to a different standard, denying them the basic right to self-defense only because Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people, blatantly exposing a hatred that is born of anti-Semitism. 

Ron Jager grew up in the South Bronx of New York City, making Aliyah in 1980. He served for 25 years in the IDF as a Mental Health Field Officer in operational units. Prior to retiring, he was Commander of the Central Psychiatric Clinic for Reserve Solders at Tel-Hashomer. Since retiring, Jager has been involved in strategic consultancy to NGO’s and communities in the Gaza Envelope on resiliency projects to assist first responders and communities. Ron has written numerous articles for outlets in Israel and abroad focusing on Israel and the Jewish world. To contact: [email protected] or visit his website: www.ronjager.com.