Condemnations mount for Jonathan Glazer’s 'morally indefensible' Oscars speech

The Oscars this year were a relatively tame affair, with very few stars and filmmakers directly speaking out about the current conflict in the Middle East on what is irrefutably Hollywood’s biggest stage.

Prior to the ceremony, several celebs expressed their views, but with the fear that speaking out could lead to negative impacts on their careers, most choose silence – something which feels even more glaring considering the awards night started with protesters demanding a ceasefire and blocking traffic outside the Dolby Theatre.  

The 96th Oscars did see some celebrities, including Mark Ruffalo and Billie Eilish, wearing pins calling for a ceasefire, but only one acceptance speech dared to address the war in Gaza.

That came from Jonathan Glazer, the director of the searing Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest - one of our must-see films of the year. 

Glazer took to the stage alongside producer James Wilson to accept the Oscar for Best International Film – the first time Britain has won the prize – for his German-language, Polish-shot adaptation of the Martin Amis novel. The film, which premiered last year in Cannes and won the Grand Prix, focuses on the family of Auschwitz's longest-serving commandant, Rudolf Höss.

The director, who is Jewish, said those killed in both Israel and Gaza were victims of "dehumanisation".

"Our film shows where dehumanisation leads at its worst. It's shaped all of our past and present."

He continued: “Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack in Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?”

He