Connie Britton, Chelsea Handler, Jennifer Jason Leigh Sign Open Letter Urging Biden, Harris to Help Bring Hostages Home
A new open letter signed by 62 artists and celebrities was shared Wednesday, urging President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to use their power to help save the hostages still held captive by Hamas.
“We are artists who want sustainable peace in the Middle East and recognize that the first essential step towards that peace is Hamas returning the 101 remaining hostages, including five Americans, who were stolen from their lives on Oct. 7. We cannot afford to stand by silently while Hamas brutally executes more innocent hostages,” the group wrote Wednesday in partnership with End Jew Hatred.
“We urge you to continue to protect and support the only democracy in the Middle East,” they concluded. “Please do all you can to pressure the terrorists to release the hostages now.”
The letter comes two weeks after six hostages kidnapped from last year’s Nova Music Festival — Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Eden Yerushalmi — were found dead by execution in Gaza earlier this month.
The letter was signed by Sasha Alexander, Emily Austin, Mayim Bialik, Eric Balfour, Paris Berelc, Connie Britton, Hannah Bronfman, Nathaniel Buzolic, Friday Chamberlain, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Andu Cohen, Adrianna Costa, Ari Dayan, Donny Deutsch, David Draiman, Rich Eisen, Brandon Farbstein, Mark Feuerstein, Rebecca Gayheart, Brett Gelman, Elon Gold, Iddo Goldberg, Jackie Goldschneider, Ben Gleib, Malynda Hale, Chelsea Handler, Julia Haart, Samantha Harris, Patricia Heaton, Barbara Hershey, Brittney Hopper, Margaret Joseph, Kaya Jones, Jill Karman, Jamie King, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ali Landry, Ariel Martin, James Maslow, Rebecca Minkoff, William McNamara, Isaac Mizrahi, John Ondrasik, Michael Rapaport, Melissa Rivers, Ronen Rubinstein, Odeya Rush, Katie Sands, Suzy Schuster, Gail Simmons, Amy Smart, Patti Stanger, Alison Stover, Tara Strong, Bonnie Somerville, Colton Underwood, Katie Walder, Kevin Weisman, Jade Tailor, Montana Tucker, Jill Zarin and Constance Zimmer.
Wednesday’s letter echoes similar public calls to action taken by celebrities in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel.
Biden and Harris each previously spoke out when the above group of six hostages were found dead on Sept. 1.
“Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we’ll continue working towards a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages,” the president wrote on social media, while the vice president and 2024 Democratic nominee added: “Hamas is an evil terrorist organization. With these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands. I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world.”
The End Jew Hatred initiative describes itself as an “international grassroots civil rights movement that unites ordinary people, activists, and organizations from around the world towards a shared goal: to end Jew-hatred in our lifetime.”
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