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Rabat – Jonathan Glazer, director of the “The Zone of Interest”, won cheers and applause in the 96th Academy Awards, calling for an end to Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
His German-language, Polish shot-adaption of the Martin Amis novel, saw him win the Oscar for Best International Feature Film – the first time Britain has won the prize. It is a film that depicts the life of a Nazi commandment and his wife who attempt to build their dream life in their home next to the Auschwitz concentration camp and portrays the dehumanisation of detainees in the camp.
But perhaps what was more notable, was him being the only award recipient to mention the war in Gaza and the struggles of Palestinians under Israeli occupation in his acceptance speech, according to Middle East Eye, which went viral on social media.
Glazer took to the stage alongside his producer James Wilson, where he stated that the pair intended to make the story as contemporary as possible; “All our choices are made to reflect and confront us in the present. Not to say, ‘Look what they did then,’ rather ‘Look what we do now.’ Our film shows where dehumanisation leads at its worst.”
The pair – who are both Jewish – were commended on their words, as Glazer continued; “Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to war for so many innocent people, whether the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack in Gaza.”
Glazer’s Oscar acceptance speech ignited anger amongst supporters of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) assault on Gaza, which has so far taken the lives of more than 31,000 Palestinians.
On the contrary, Majed Bamya, Palestine’s Deputy Permanent Observer at the United Nations (UN) thanked him for his “powerful speech.”
The news also comes in wake of the support of other celebrities at the Academy Awards, where singer Billie Eilish and actors Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youseef and Mahershala Ali, amongst several others, wore red pins in support of a ceasefire in Gaza.
Read also: Morocco Joins Humanitarian Efforts in Gaza: Set to Airdrop Food in Northern Region
