Donny Deutsch.Photo:Andrew H. Walker/AWNewYork/Shutterstock
Andrew H. Walker/AWNewYork/Shutterstock
Donny Deutsch wants more people, especially those with public platforms, to speak out against antisemitism.
“If you have a platform and there’s something important going on, I do think people have a responsibility,” the MSNBC regular and host ofOn Brand with Donny Deutschtells PEOPLE.
“This is not necessarily about an escalation or retaliation or about a two-state solution or about [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu. This is just about the slaughtering and killing of Jews, and that’s whatHamas' mission statement is,” he says. ”I think you should be able to speak up very clearly and unabashedly and condemn this. Period.”
AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty
Deutsch, who is Jewish, notes that hate is something Jewish people are feeling in the United States, too. “It’s not just over there,” he says. “By not condemning it over there, we are allowing it here.”
With younger generations relying almost exclusively on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) for their news, Deutsch worries about antisemitism’s ability to run rampant and unchecked.
“Where are all the athletes? Where are all the musicians? Where are the performers? Where’s Broadway? Where is the television industry, movie industry?” he asks. “This lack of outspokenness, this lack of outrage hits all tentacles of entertainment.”
Duetsch recognizes that a fear of backlash and a lack of understanding in people, whether they be celebrities or CEOs, may be what stops them from speaking up at all. Still, he finds the silence “deafening and unacceptable.”
“The cultural leaders, celebrities, corporate leaders, political leaders, academic leaders — the people who are the voices of who we are, that’s what leaders do, “he says. “They lead in difficult times, and silence is not leading.”
Israeli soldiers ride a tank along the Israel-Gaza border following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency via Getty
Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency via Getty
Ultimately, the conflict is nuanced. So, while Deutsch speaks out against virulent antisemitism both at home and abroad, he stresses that “two things can be true at once.”
“My heart goes out to all sides in this conflict,” he says, adding, “You can say, ‘They are complex issues, and I certainly can empathize with all sides, and I don’t understand those issues, but I do understand that the mass slaughter of women and children and elderly people and innocent people simply because they’re Jewish is a problem.'”
source: people.com
