Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg finally decided to speak out about Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel on October 7. The comments surfaced in a feature published by the Shoah Foundation earlier this month.
The Shoah Foundation was founded by Spielberg in 1994, and its mission is to “give opportunity to survivors and witnesses to the Shoah — the genocide of the Jews — to tell their own stories in their own words in audio-visual interviews, preserve their testimonies, and make them accessible for research, education, and outreach for the betterment of humankind in perpetuity.”
Spielberg also announced the launch of the Countering Antisemitism Through Testimony Collection initiative in an effort to gather and collect testimonies from survivors from the attacks launched by Hamas, according to The Wrap.
In the feature, Spielberg said “I never imagined I would see such unspeakable barbarity against Jews in my lifetime,” which is a statement that has not been shared by many in Hollywood.
The foundation has already collected testimony from survivors of the Holocaust, or the Shoah, for a number of decades. Spielberg went on to say, “Holocaust survivors are the most courageous and brave among us, and their accounts are a lasting testament to the resilience of the human spirit.”
“Both initiatives — recording interviews with survivors of the October 7 attacks and the ongoing collection of Holocaust testimony — seek to fulfill our promise to survivors: that their stories would be recorded and shared in the effort to preserve history and to work toward a world without antisemitism or hate of any kind,” Spielberg went on.
It appears that Spielberg was prompted to make a statement after thousands of Holocaust survivors wrote him a letter, demanding that he speak out about the atrocities committed against the Jewish state on October 7.
David Schaecter, of the Holocaust Survivors’ Foundation USA, stated in the letter: “I, along with countless other Survivors, are so heartbroken that, since October 7, 2023, you have not spoken out and publicly taken a stand against terrorism, against Hamas and the millions who celebrate the shedding of Jewish blood.”
“Mr. Spielberg, ‘Schindler’s List’ was about one man having the moral courage to risk his life to save others,” the letter went on. “We are not asking you to risk your life. We are asking you to use your voice.”
“Take it from those of us who were subjected to the most brutal and deadly anti-Semitism of all time: It will never go away, and Jews will never be safe until Israel is safe and secure.”
Schaecter made reference to Spielberg’s own 1993 film about the life and actions of Oskar Schindler, a German business owner who saved the lives of thousands of Polish Jews during Hitler’s rule during World War II.
It is still unclear why Spielberg decided to wait almost two months to make a comment about the slaughter of 1,200 Israelis, and the abduction of 240 others.
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