'Emblem of Jewish bloodshed': Hollywood rift deepens over red pin Oscar campaign

A bitter clash has erupted in Hollywood over a red pin campaign ahead of the March 3 Academy Awards, pitting pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian factions against each other in a public battle over symbolism and timing. The pro-Israel group known as "The Brigade," comprising some 700 producers, actors, agents, and filmmakers, has sharply condemned Artists4Ceasefire’s initiative urging Oscar attendees to wear red pins in solidarity with Gazans, calling the badge “no symbol of peace” but rather “the emblem of Jewish bloodshed.”

The controversy intensified on Monday night, when The Brigade released a scathing statement targeting the timing of Artists4Ceasefire’s February 20 appeal to celebrities. That same day, Hamas returned the bodies of Shiri Bibas, 32, and her sons, 4-year-old Ariel and 10-month-old Kfir, who were killed in Gaza after being abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023. Israeli authorities confirmed the children were “strangled to death by their terrorist captors’ bare hands,” a detail that The Brigade seized upon to draw a direct and visceral connection to the pin’s design.

“In 2000, Palestinian terrorists in Ramallah lynched two innocent Israelis, tearing them apart limb by limb, and held up their blood-soaked hands to a cheering mob. That infamous image is now your ‘ceasefire’ badge. Is this ignorance? Or is this deliberate, calculated malice?” The Brigade wrote in their statement, shared widely on social media platforms like X.

Artists4Ceasefire, a pro-Palestinian collective, had described the pin’s symbolism differently: “The red background represents the urgent call to save lives, the orange hand symbolizes the diverse community that has united to support us, and the heart at the center of the hand invites us to lead with love.” But The Brigade rejected this interpretation, arguing that the red hand evokes the Ramallah lynching of 2000 and, more recently, the violent deaths of the Bibas children. “On February 20, the same day the world learned Kfir and Ariel Bibas were strangled to death, you doubled down—urging celebrities to proudly wear your bloodstained red hand pin. Have you no shame?” the statement demanded.

The Brigade’s critique also extended to what they called Hamas’s “grotesque, sadistic ceasefire tactics,” pointing to instances where hostages were returned “on the brink of death, frail, bruised, and starved” or “executed after a ceasefire was reached.” The group’s statement directly challenged Hollywood figures planning to wear the pins at the Oscars, asking whether they would “proudly wear the emblem of a lynching.”

This isn’t the first time the red pin has sparked controversy. At last year’s 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024, Artists4Ceasefire successfully persuaded high-profile figures like Mark Ruffalo and Billie Eilish to don the badge, drawing attention to their call for a ceasefire in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign. Photos from that evening, including Ruffalo’s arrival at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles (captured by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP), and Eilish’s performance of “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie, circulated widely, amplifying the pin’s visibility.

The Brigade’s response, however, signals a deepening divide in Hollywood’s entertainment elite. “To those who wore it without knowing—now you know. To those who knew and wore it anyway—we see you, and we will not be silent,” the group concluded, urging industry insiders to reconsider their stance before the upcoming ceremony.

As the March 3 Oscar night approaches, all eyes will be on the red carpet to see how many attendees choose to wear the contentious pins. The debate has already ignited fierce online discussions, with posts on X amplifying both sides’ arguments—some defending the pin as a humanitarian symbol, others decrying it as a painful reminder of violence against Jews. For now, the red pin remains a lightning rod, illuminating the raw emotions and political fault lines coursing through Tinseltown.

Israel Hayom contributed to this article.