Media mogul, Haim Saban, says he longs to “share the facts” with many in Hollywood about the complexity of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. He responded to a letter Spanish actress Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem signed calling for an end to the “genocide” in Gaza.
Saban, whose family emigrated from Egypt to Israel in 1956, says he understands the confusion of high-profile celebrities concerning the conflict in Israel, but says they lack the real facts, which are “complex.” He said, “In order to be able to concentrate on a dialogue concerning a controversial issue, you’ve got to be familiar with the facts which (in the case of Gaza) are pretty complex … Most of Hollywood is informed in a very superficial way only what they see on this television channel or the other or in this newspaper or the other. They’re not deeply familiar with the facts.”
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Concerning the threat of radical Islam, Saban said, “Extreme Islam is not just an Iraqi or Syrian problem. It is a problem for the Western and industrialized world, too. Once they take care of those they call infidels, meaning Muslims who don’t share their view of the world, we’re next. Make no mistake about it. These people yearn for death, and would have no problem coming here, and when I say here, I mean Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, California. They have no problems coming here and blowing themselves up…it sounds alarmist, but it’s reality.”
When asked what he thought of President Barack Obama, a president whose re-election Saban voted for, and his policy towards the Middle East, Saban replied, “The President was dealt a hand of cards that is impossible to play. I don’t now if anybody can strike with a magic wand and find a solution here, whether its ISIS or Hamas. America doesn’t have the capacity to influence every crisis around the world. It isn’t realistic to expect that.”
