Esteemed filmmaker Steven Spielberg has broken his silence on the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel.
His remarks were revealed in a feature by the Shoah Foundation, an organization he established in 1994.
The Shoah Foundation's mission is to provide survivors and witnesses of the Shoah, the genocide of Jews, an opportunity to narrate their experiences in their own words through audio-visual interviews. The foundation aims to preserve these testimonies and make them accessible for research, education, and outreach, contributing to the betterment of humanity.
Spielberg also unveiled the Countering Antisemitism Through Testimony Collection initiative, a project aimed at gathering testimonies from survivors of the Hamas attacks, as reported by The Wrap.
In the feature, Spielberg expressed his shock at the brutality against Jews, stating, "I never imagined I would see such unspeakable barbarity against Jews in my lifetime." This sentiment has not been widely echoed in Hollywood.
The Shoah Foundation has been collecting testimonies from Holocaust survivors for several decades. Spielberg further commented, "Holocaust survivors are the most courageous and brave among us, and their accounts are a lasting testament to the resilience of the human spirit."
Spielberg emphasized the importance of both initiatives, recording interviews with survivors of the October 7 attacks and the ongoing collection of Holocaust testimony. He stated that these efforts aim to fulfill the promise to survivors that their stories would be recorded and shared to preserve history and work towards a world free of antisemitism or any form of hate.
Spielberg's statement appears to have been prompted by a letter from thousands of Holocaust survivors urging him to speak out about the atrocities committed against the Jewish state on October 7.
David Schaecter, from the Holocaust Survivors' Foundation USA, wrote 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.
Schaecter invoked Spielberg's acclaimed 1993 film, 'Schindlers List,' about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved thousands of Polish Jews during Hitler's reign in World War II. He wrote, We are not asking you to risk your life. We are asking you to use your voice.
He concluded, 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."
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