William Earl “It’s great to see everyone here. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances is the truth,” Matti Leshem began, introducing a panel on the state of Antisemitism during Variety’s Hollywood & Antisemitism Summit, presented by The Margaret & Daniel Loeb Foundation and Shine A Light.
Leshem, a producer and founder of New Mandate Films, began the conversation by checking in with each panel member and their emotional states following the attack by Hamas on Israel that has killed more than 1,400 civilians. “I’m enraged.
I’m furious. I’m furious at so many things. I’m furious about the loss of life,” Alana Newhouse, founder and editor-in-chief of Tablet, began. “I’m also furious at how surprised people seemed.
If you were surprised at what happened, you are not following the right people. There have been people who have been talking about this slow-and-then-fast-moving train for the last 10 years.” Leshem also introduced Greg Berlanti, a prolific producer whom Leshem also called “the greatest ally of the Jewish people.” Berlanti was raised Catholic but found himself closely tied to the Jewish community growing up. “I genuinely, no joke, thought I was Jewish.
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