Many Jews have recognized their exclusion from the “diversity, equity, and inclusion” agenda, but they still don’t seem to recognize its inherent dangers.
That was made painfully obvious by the letter signed by 260 Jews in the entertainment industry that was published last week. They protested the new DEI-influenced rules for the Best Picture Oscar that will go into effect for films made this year.
The Oscars have always been as much about commerce and Hollywood politics as excellence. The new rules shoehorn divisive quotas into every film production, demanding that each one includes certain types of people or themes. This reflects how the art world is in thrall to toxic left-wing ideas that are transforming movies from a form of popular entertainment into an exercise in politically correct virtue signaling.
Racial or ethnic quotas have no place in movies or any other form of artistic expression. For the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — the body responsible for the annual Oscars — to mandate them in this way turns the entire concept of artistic merit on its head.
Joining DEI, Not Opposing It
Noteworthy actors like Mayim Bialik, Ginnifer Goodwin, Debra Messing, Juliana Margulies, Brett Gelman, Michael Rapaport, and David Schwimmer signed the letter. But they had no issue with DEI itself. They just want Jews to be included in it.
Perhaps it’s too much to ask anyone working in Hollywood to push back against DEI. Even the mildest hint of conservatism is not just unfashionable but
