{"id":49880,"date":"2026-08-24T12:30:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T19:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49880"},"modified":"2026-08-24T12:30:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T19:30:45","slug":"appalling-and-fundamentally-dishonest-ruffalo-rejects-antisemitism-charges-by-paramount-amid-merger-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/24\/appalling-and-fundamentally-dishonest-ruffalo-rejects-antisemitism-charges-by-paramount-amid-merger-warning\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Appalling and Fundamentally Dishonest\u2019: Ruffalo Rejects Antisemitism Charges by Paramount Amid Merger Warning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/crime-101-uk-gala-screening-arrivals.jpg?id=67661735&amp;width=1200&amp;height=400&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=0%2C440%2C0%2C1227\" alt=\"&quot;Crime 101&quot; UK Gala Screening - Arrivals\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>LONDON, ENGLAND &#8211; JANUARY 28: Mark Ruffalo attends the &#8220;Crime 101&#8221; UK gala screening at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on January 28, 2026 in London, England.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Photo by Simon Ackerman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cNow is the time to dive boldly into all these issues,\u201d said the Avengers actor and social justice activist, \u201cnot step back or concede.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/jon-queally\">Jon Queally<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aug 23, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark Ruffalo, the actor known worldwide for both his role as the Incredible Hulk in the Avengers movie franchise as well as his work as a dedicated humanitarian and voice for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/social-justice\">social justice<\/a>, did not back down Saturday after his criticism of the pending merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. was cast as antisemitic by executives at Paramount, largely owned by billionaire Larry Ellison and run by his son, David.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Ruffalo has been outspoken in his opposition to the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal for months\u2014warning like many other critics that further consolidation by such media behemoths will hurt consumers, squeeze&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/workers\">workers<\/a>&nbsp;in the entertainment industry, minimize the range of viewpoints and creativity available, and further entrench&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/right-wing\">right-wing<\/a>&nbsp;control of the nation\u2019s media system\u2014what apparently sparked the accusation against him was the recent sharing of a years-old video clip of Paramount board member Safra Catz discussing \u201creally profoundly scary technologies\u201d that Oracle, which offers software and database services and the company upon which Larry Ellison built his vast wealth, provided to the Israeli military over recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RECOMMENDED&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/gavin-newsom-paramount-merger\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/california-govern-gavin-newsom-delivers-state-of-the-state-address-in-sacramento.jpg?id=62823640&amp;width=1200&amp;height=1200&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=332%2C0%2C333%2C0\" alt=\"California Govern Gavin Newsom Delivers State Of The State Address In Sacramento\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/gavin-newsom-paramount-merger\">Progressives Rip Newsom Over Reported Meddling in Suit Against Paramount-Warner Merger<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/us-airman-iran\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/maj-jason-watson.png?id=67638820&amp;width=1200&amp;height=1200&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=511%2C0%2C512%2C0\" alt=\"Maj. Jason Watson\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/us-airman-iran\">Trump \u2018Has Failed Us\u2019: US Airman Says He Accepts Cost of Speaking Out Against Iran War<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the Instagram post Ruffalo shared has expired, the clip of Catz has been circulating on time for quite some time, seen as evidence of the close and well-documented ties that Oracle has had with the Israeli military:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe have some really profoundly scary technology at Oracle, and we wanted to make sure that it was available for the effort.\u201d<br><br>A recently resurfaced video of former Oracle CEO Safra Catz has sparked outrage after she boasted about providing advanced technology to the Israeli army <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/r3gJWx9sTu\">pic.twitter.com\/r3gJWx9sTu<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MiddleEastEye\/status\/2088485905057095680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 15, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In Ruffalo\u2019s post, in which he reportedly warned that the Ellisons were \u201cpowering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world,\u201d he also made reference to the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/genocide\">genocide<\/a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/gaza\">Gaza<\/a>&nbsp;being carried out by the Israeli military as well as the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/apartheid\">apartheid<\/a>&nbsp;under which&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/palestinians\">Palestinians<\/a>&nbsp;live in the Occupied&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/west-bank\">West Bank<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis merger has real consequences for real people, and for the entire country. Scrutinizing the Ellisons, including Oracle\u2019s business built on data, surveillance technology and government contracts, and the serious threat to editorial freedom and the loss of a livelihood for thousands of families, is fair and necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Noting Catz\u2019s comments in the video about Oracle, Ruffalo said, \u201cThis is the company that Larry Ellison is using to fund his son David\u2019s Warner Bros acquisition.\u201d And the \u201creally profoundly scary technologies\u201d that Catz mentioned, he continued, \u201cwill most likely be merged into one of the largest media conglomerates in the world and one day used on you. Look how she revels in what we now have come to see as a genocide, which was built on an apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In apparent reaction to Ruffalo\u2019s post, which Variety characterized as the actor going \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/film\/news\/mark-ruffalo-paramount-warner-bros-merger-david-ellison-1236840301\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">scorched earth on Paramount-Warner Bros. merger,<\/a>\u201d a spokesperson for Paramount issued a statement on Saturday saying that the company is \u201ctroubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute. Words like \u2018genocide\u2019 and \u2018apartheid,\u2019 applied to a corporate transaction, aren\u2019t just wrong\u2014they\u2019re a bridge too far, and they cheapen the very real suffering those words are meant to describe. This doesn\u2019t deserve a response in kind\u2014and to be clear, we don\u2019t tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But in response to these accusations of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/antisemitism\">antisemitism<\/a>&nbsp;on Saturday, Ruffalo issued a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MarkRuffalo\/status\/2091236072311165311\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new post<\/a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/social-media\">social media<\/a>. It reads in full:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>The accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest. Criticizing the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticizing Jewish people. This critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel. To be clear, my views come from my own political convictions and should never be interpreted as hostility toward Jewish people, for whom I have deep love and respect. Everything I know about acting,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/activism\">activism<\/a>&nbsp;and humanism has been profoundly shaped by the Jewish friends, colleagues and loved ones who have been integral and family throughout every point of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This merger has real consequences for real people, and for the entire country. Scrutinizing the Ellisons, including Oracle\u2019s business built on data, surveillance technology and government contracts, and the serious threat to editorial freedom and the loss of a livelihood for thousands of families, is fair and necessary. The $111 billion deal would hand one family control over CNN, HBO and Warner Bros., backed in part by foreign money whose influence on editorial decisions has never been fully explained to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for serious national security review, and regulators still haven\u2019t given the public a real answer. Until they do, the merger shouldn\u2019t move forward. Now is the time to dive boldly into all these issues, not step back or concede.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Commentators on social media also came to Ruffalo\u2019s defense, calling Paramount\u2019s accusations nothing more than a smear against well-founded criticisms of Oracle\u2019s business model, the crimes of the Israeli government, and warnings about what powerful, right-wing billionaires like the Ellisons could do with what could become one of the largest media corporations on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDespicable to call Ruffalo antisemitic,\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RealJonAbrams\/status\/2091140339000078416\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>&nbsp;John Abrams, an entertainment editor. \u201cHi, I\u2019m Jewish. I will be the one to tell you when something is antisemitic, you dishonest clowns. It is not antisemitic to decry Israel\u2019s crimes. In fact, it is our moral obligation\u2014as Jews, and as human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Journalist Mehdi Hassan\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mehdirhasan\/status\/2091343967082193039\" target=\"_blank\">called<\/a>\u00a0the accusations \u201ctruly cynical, shameless, and dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>X post:  <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mehdirhasan\/status\/2091245263583130048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2091245263583130048%7Ctwgr%5E221d178374847408c7d24e72ea0a1c72a400c593%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fmark-ruffalo-antisemitism-paramount\">https:\/\/x.com\/mehdirhasan\/status\/2091245263583130048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2091245263583130048%7Ctwgr%5E221d178374847408c7d24e72ea0a1c72a400c593%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fmark-ruffalo-antisemitism-paramount<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Israel crybully lobby will try, as they always do,\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/adamjohnsonCHI\/status\/2091251927136805357\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>&nbsp;author and media critic Adam Johnson, \u201cto make an example out of Ruffalo because he had the temerity and integrity to note the Ellisons\u2019 open advocacy and financial support for a military every major&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/human-rights\">human rights<\/a>&nbsp;group on earth had determined committed genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy unsolicited advice,\u201d Johnson continued. \u201cDon\u2019t give these cynical assholes an inch. Don\u2019t accept their \u2018antisemitism\u2019 shrieking as good faith.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Noting that \u201cEllison put out a press release EXPLICITLY BOASTING about how his Paramount purchase would be good for Israel and his financial support for the IDF,\u201d Johnson argued that somebody \u201ccannot do this THEN CRY ANTISEMITISM when they are held responsible for the actions of the state and military they support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/jon-queally\">Jon Queally<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jon Queally is managing editor of Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/jon-queally\">Full Bio &gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LONDON, ENGLAND &#8211; JANUARY 28: Mark Ruffalo attends the &#8220;Crime 101&#8221; UK gala screening at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on January 28, 2026 in London, England.&nbsp; Photo by Simon Ackerman\/Getty Images \u201cNow is the time to dive boldly into all these issues,\u201d said the Avengers actor and social justice activist,&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/24\/appalling-and-fundamentally-dishonest-ruffalo-rejects-antisemitism-charges-by-paramount-amid-merger-warning\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2275],"tags":[2276,2426,2277],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49880"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49881,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49880\/revisions\/49881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}