DUBAI: Over the weekend, Mark Ruffalo, the American actor best known for his portrayal of the Hulk, made headlines worldwide with a post that pushed back against what he alleged was a smear campaign designed to paint him as an antisemite.
“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,” Ruffalo said in a post on X which has since garnered over 800,000 likes.
Ruffalo’s statement came in response to an exchange between himself and Paramount Skydance which, in a statement on Saturday, had accused him of invoking “antisemitic tropes” in his criticism of its controversial merger with Warner Bros. Discovery which would see it take control of major media institutions including CNN.
Paramount Skydance is led by CEO David Ellison, and Oracle, the technology company, is run by Ellison’s father, Larry, which has supplied software to the Israel Defense Forces, Ministry of Defense, air force, government, and police for decades.
Shmulik Hauser, head of Oracle’s sales division, told Israeli news site Ynet last year that supporting Israel was in their “DNA” and Oracle executive vice-chair, Safra Catz, is on video describing the “really profoundly scary technology” it provided to Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, events.
