An entertainment industry group that includes Hollywood producers Haim Saban, Lawrence Bender and Teddy Schwarzman has released a statement condemning the alleged “antisemitic tropes” underpinning Mark Ruffalo‘s opposition to Paramount’s leadership amid its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
The statement comes from a group calling itself The Brigade, which describes itself as “a group of nearly 1,000 members, friends, and allies of the Jewish community who are proud to be working in film, television, music, Broadway, social and digital, and other platforms in and around the entertainment industry.”
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As well as Power Rangers media mogul Saban, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction producer Bender and Black Bear founder and CEO Schwarzman, the Brigade includes amongst its ranks Ram Bergman, Matti Leshem, Anthony Bregman, Micah Green and Lynn Harris.
The Brigade’s statement comes in the wake of Ruffalo’s Aug. 21 Instagram post that spotlighted Oracle’s ties to the Israeli military — specifically a viral clip of former Oracle CEO Safra Catz at the Israeli-American Council National Summit in 2024 as it related to Israel’s war effort in Gaza.
“Singling out Jewish executives and describing them in terms lifted from centuries-old antisemitic conspiracy theories, while invoking Israel as the frame for that attack, is antisemitic,” reads the statement. “It is unacceptable to introduce Jews, antizionism, or antisemitism into conversations about business transactions, simply because those involved are Jewish.”
Ruffalo has long opposed both the Paramount-WBD merger over concerns about Hollywood jobs and has also long campaigned for Palestinian rights and condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank. The actor’s post called out Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Paramount’s controlling shareholder through a family trust, and the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison. Larry Ellison is also the key financial backstop behind Paramount’s merger attempt with WBD.
The statement added: “This is a callous continuation of the ongoing campaign by the same individuals and groups targeting Jewish people and the state of Israel, a pattern of antisemitism and misinformation that puts our community in grave danger.”
After Ruffalo’s initial Instagram post, a Paramount spokesperson issued a reply to the four-time Oscar-nominated and two-time Emmy-winning actor that called for the temperature of the debate around the WBD deal to be lowered and characterized Ruffalo’s remarks as “antisemitic.” In a viral X post, Ruffalo fired back that the “accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest.”
The Brigade joins the Simon Wiesenthal Center in condemning Ruffalo’s Paramount posts. But in her own statement, Emmy-winning Hacks actress Hannah Einbinder described the “antisemitism” claims against Ruffalo as “ludicrous,” and implored more in Hollywood to “be more like Mark.”
Read the full statement from The Brigade below:
We are writing on behalf of a group of nearly 1000 members, friends, and allies of the Jewish community who are proud to be working in film, television, music, Broadway, social and digital, and other platforms in and around the entertainment industry. It is unfortunate that we are yet again forced to state our unequivocal condemnation of the use of antisemitic tropes and narratives by those who use their platform for targeted hate speech toward Jews.
Singling out Jewish executives and describing them in terms lifted from centuries-old antisemitic conspiracy theories, while invoking Israel as the frame for that attack, is antisemitic. It is unacceptable to introduce Jews, antizionism, or antisemitism into conversations about business transactions, simply because those involved are Jewish. There is nothing “strange” about a Jewish executive discussing substantive issues about tech.
This is not commentary on a merger. It is not a criticism of a government. It is simple antisemitism, where Jewish executives are portrayed as a secretive and powerful wealth-hoarding elite delighting in mass death. This is the same rhetoric that Nazis, Soviets, and the Klan weaponized against Jews, and its consequences are not only historical: they show up today in attacks against Jews in our streets, our synagogues, and our schools.
This is a callous continuation of the ongoing campaign by the same individuals and groups targeting Jewish people and the state of Israel, a pattern of antisemitism and misinformation that puts our community in grave danger.
There is no excuse and no defense for this rhetoric, including the “I have Jewish friends” rationale, and there are many questions that demand an answer — including, is there someone behind the funding of this campaign that is continuously perpetrated by the same individuals?
We will keep standing up against this hatred. Because when we say, NEVER AGAIN, we mean it.
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Facts Only
* A group including producers Haim Saban, Lawrence Bender, and Teddy Schwarzman released a statement.
* The statement condemned alleged "antisemitic tropes" related to Mark Ruffalo's opposition to Paramount's leadership regarding the proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
* The condemning group is called The Brigade, described as nearly 1,000 members of the Jewish community working in entertainment and digital platforms.
* The statement followed an Instagram post by Mark Ruffalo on August 21st spotlighting Oracle's ties to the Israeli military.
* The Brigade stated that singling out Jewish executives and invoking Israel in business conversations is antisemitic.
* The group further asserted this rhetoric reflects a pattern of targeting Jewish people and the State of Israel.
* Mark Ruffalo opposed the Paramount-WBD merger due to concerns about Hollywood jobs.
* Ruffalo's post called out Larry Ellison, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, and David Ellison.
* A Paramount spokesperson characterized Ruffalo's remarks as "antisemitic."
* Hannah Einbinder described the claims against Ruffalo as "ludicrous."
Executive Summary
An entertainment group comprising Hollywood producers Haim Saban, Lawrence Bender, and Teddy Schwarzman released a statement condemning the alleged antisemitic tropes underlying Mark Ruffalo's opposition to Paramount's leadership during its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The statement originated from a group named The Brigade, which describes itself as an alliance of nearly 1,000 members of the Jewish community working in various entertainment and digital platforms.
The condemnation followed an Instagram post by Ruffalo on August 21st that highlighted Oracle's ties to the Israeli military, referencing a clip involving former Oracle CEO Safra Catz related to Israel's war in Gaza. The Brigade statement asserted that singling out Jewish executives and invoking Israel in discussions about business transactions constitutes antisemitism and is unacceptable. They framed the remarks as a continuation of broader campaigns targeting Jewish people and the State of Israel.
This reaction followed Ruffalo’s long-standing opposition to the Paramount-WBD merger, his advocacy for Palestinian rights, and his critique of figures like Larry Ellison, who is linked to Paramount's ownership structure. A Paramount spokesperson responded to Ruffalo by characterizing his remarks as antisemitic, an accusation Ruffalo disputed publicly. Other figures, including Hannah Einbinder, described the claims against Ruffalo as ludicrous, while The Brigade aligned with the Simon Wiesenthal Center in condemning the post.
Full Take
The dynamic revealed here involves an attempt to frame a conflict over corporate structure and geopolitical critique through an antisemitic lens. The invocation of centuries-old conspiracy theories regarding Jewish elites, tied specifically to invoking Israel in business contexts, serves to recontextualize legitimate concerns about corporate power dynamics into a matter of existential threat. The strength of the Brigade’s argument lies in linking specific rhetoric directly to historical patterns of persecution, suggesting that the mechanism of attack—using established antisemitic tropes—is the core issue, rather than just the immediate political disagreement over a merger.
The reaction from Paramount and other figures attempts to draw a boundary around acceptable speech by labeling the critique as "antisemitic." This creates an arena where debate shifts from substance (merger terms) to identity policing. The pattern is one of defensive boundary setting: when critiques touch upon historically charged themes, there is an immediate push to suppress the discourse under specific labels. The ultimate implication is that addressing corporate and geopolitical power structures is perceived as inherently dangerous if it invokes established narratives of hatred.
The absence of a direct confrontation over the funding or source of the alleged campaign, coupled with the insistence on stopping the rhetoric via generalized condemnation, suggests an underlying resistance to deep structural investigation into who perpetrates these patterns, rather than focusing on the immediate actors involved in the business deal. What remains unanswered is how narratives that rely on historical scapegoating are managed when applied to contemporary commercial conflicts, and whether attempts at semantic reframing ultimately allow for true cognitive sovereignty or merely shift the locus of the conflict without changing underlying power dynamics.
Sentinel — Human
This analysis appears to be grounded in reporting of public statements and reactions, demonstrating the characteristic structure of journalistic synthesis rather than purely generative text.