Jewish actor Wallace Shawn accuses Israelis of 'doing evil that is just as great as what the Nazis did'

American-Jewish actor, 81, known for his roles in The Princess Bride and Clueless, no stranger to anti-Israel statements, but he now has raised the bar by comparing the country's citizens to Nazis; 'Hitler had the decency to try to keep it secret... the Israelis are almost proud of it, and it’s demonically evil'

Veteran Jewish American actor Wallace Shawn, 81, known for his roles in "Princess Bride," "Clueless," "Toy Story" and "Young Sheldon," is no stranger to criticizing Israel and supporting pro-Palestinian activists. Since the start of the Gaza war, he has been a regular participant in demonstrations and events organized by anti-Zionist organizations across the United States, but now he is raising the bar in his statements, comparing Israel to Nazi Germany and accusing Israelis who support the Netanyahu government of "temporary insanity."
During an interview he gave on a podcast hosted by Jewish author and comedian Katie Halper, the 81-year-old Shawn compared Israel to the Nazis and accused the country of “demonic evil.”
An interview with Wallace Shawn
(Video: From The Katie Halper Show YouTube channel )
The Israelis “invaded somebody else’s territory, they took people’s homes, and they did many of the things that the Nazis did to the Jews,” Shawn said.
“You can’t be more evil than what they’re doing,” he continued. “They are doing evil that is just as great as what the Nazis did and in some ways, it’s worse because they kind of boast about it. Hitler had the decency to try to keep it secret... the Israelis are almost proud of it, and it’s demonically evil. You can’t be more evil. And anybody who doesn’t recognize that it’s evil, I can’t properly communicate with that person.”
He also said that “the whole world knows that they are starving people, preventing children from getting medicine on purpose, and bombing hospitals,” he said. “If you don’t see that it’s evil to do those things to other human beings, then you’re in a different universe for me.”
"This may be temporary insanity. I suspect that some Israelis who today support what their country is doing in Gaza or the West Bank will stand up in 10 years and ask themselves, 'How did I justify this?'" he concluded.
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Wallace Shawn compared Israel to the Nazis and accused the country of 'demonic evil'
(Photo: AP)
Born to a Jewish family in Manhattan, Shawn has been known as one of Israel's most outspoken critics even before the current war in Gaza. For over a decade, he has been a member of the advisory board of the anti-Zionist Jewish organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). In a 2009 interview, he said that "morally, it would have been better if we were the victims."
During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, he expressed support for the Palestinians, and in 2023 he signed a letter from Artists4Ceasefire calling on former U.S. President Joe Biden to act for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and the terrorist organization that runs Gaza, Hamas.
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The actor, who lives in New York with his partner, writer Deborah Eisenberg, said in an interview with the UK Jewish Chronicle "I live in an American world, a New York world and a world world. But not particularly in a Jewish world." In the past year, Shawn has participated in several protests against Israel, including a protest outside the White House calling for a cease-fire, where he claimed that "the attack on Gaza was premeditated" and accused the Biden administration of supporting "the massacre of innocents," referring to the Gazans and not the victims and hostages from October 7.
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