Michael Douglas Op-Ed On Anti-Semitism

Actor/producer Michael Douglas- who has recently embraced Judaism (his actor dad Kirk Douglas is Jewish)- has written a very interesting op-ed on the upsurge of anti-Semitism around the world. He was inspired to write about it after his own son Dylan encountered anti-Semitism during a vacation in Southern Europe last year. Like his, Dylan has also embraced his Jewish roots.

At a swimming pool, some hotel patron insulted him after noticing his Star of David. In his op-ed Douglas recounts the incident his son experienced, some if his own past encounters with anti-Semitism, and then delves into why he believes there has been an increase in hatred of Jews.

In my opinion there are three reasons anti-Semitism is appearing now with renewed vigilance.

The first is that historically, it always grows more virulent whenever and wherever the economy is bad. In a time when income disparity is growing, when hundreds of millions of people live in abject poverty, some find Jews to be a convenient scapegoat rather than looking at the real source of their problems.

If we confront anti-Semitism ... if we combat it individually and as a society, and use whatever platform we have to denounce it, we can stop the spread of this madness.
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A second root cause of anti-Semitism derives from an irrational and misplaced hatred of Israel. Far too many people see Israel as an apartheid state and blame the people of an entire religion for what, in truth, are internal national-policy decisions. Does anyone really believe that the innocent victims in that kosher shop in Paris and at that bar mitzvah in Denmark had anything to do with Israeli-Palestinian policies or the building of settlements 2,000 miles away?

The third reason is simple demographics. Europe is now home to 25 million to 30 million Muslims, twice the world's entire Jewish population. Within any religious community that large, there will always be an extremist fringe, people who are radicalized and driven with hatred, while rejecting what all religions need to preach — respect, tolerance and love. We're now seeing the amplified effects of that small, radicalized element. With the Internet, its virus of hatred can now speed from nation to nation, helping fuel Europe's new epidemic of anti-Semitism.It is time for each of us to speak up against this hate.

He praises French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, Pope Francis, and New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan for speaking out against anti-Semitism, and calls upon all the political and religious leaders of the world to do the same. He also believes it's also the responsibility of all of us "to take action."

Read the whole op-ed on the L.A. Times website.

Michael Douglas Refuses To Sign Roman Polanski Cannes Film Fest Petition

Actor Michael Douglas seems to have some sense of integrity, other than his political persuasion which is typical Hollywood. When his son was arrested for drug dealing and sentenced to 5 years in jail, he didn't bitch and moan about the fact, he simply pleaded for leniency. His son could have faced a possible 10 years in prison, but felt the 5 years was an "adequate amount of time." Most celebrity parents would have tried to keep their offspring out of jail completely, but Douglas said

"Look, my son was a drug dealer and he's been trying to kill himself for a while and I can't condone his behavior," Douglas said on the morning show. "So I think the court recognized his drug addiction as well as the crime he committed ... and the best part of it is he will be able to start his life afresh."

Prior to Cameron facing his prison sentence, his father submitted a hand-written letter to the judge, asking him to be lenient with his son. He wrote, "I love my son, but I'm not blind to his actions. ... I don't want to see him break."

He told Lauer, "The fact is, with all the mistakes and the disease that Cameron has, he's a great young man and I wouldn't be supporting him if I didn't feel that way. So yes, I think the judge was put in a difficult position."

Douglas also happens to be one of the few celebrities who has refused to sign a new petition to release convicted child molester Roman Polanski. Last December a slew of entertainment industry celebs signed one. Now there's a new petition, coinciding with the Cannes Film Festival, sponsored by wacky French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy (on his website) once again calling for Polanski's immediate release.

Signatories of the petition include French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard, French actor-director Mathieu Amalric and Cannes best director laureate Bertrand Tavernier.

Douglas, who has a film in the fest, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps", has also refused to sign this one, claiming in an interview that

it would be "unfair" for him to sign a petition for "somebody who did break the law."

In the interview with RTL radio broadcast on Friday, Douglas said Polanski had been given "some bad advice" when the scandal broke.

There have been others who were willing to buck the Hollywood trend of believing that since it was Roman Polanski it was okay for him to have sex with a 13-year-old girl, but not many. And you have to wonder if those same people who did sign it will still think it's okay that he also sexually abused a 16-year-old girl, in Paris in the 1980s, 4 years after he abused the 13-year-old. That is, if the allegations are true. One does have to wonder what took the woman so long to come forward, but apparently 42-year-old Brit actress Charlotte Lewis claims she is speaking out now because of Polanski's attempts to beat extradition to the U.S. from Switzerland. Her attorney, Gloria Allred has stated that there are no plans for legal action, but that Lewis will testify if needed. The fact that Polanski's "..legal team is portraying his previous offense against a minor as an isolated instance," prompted Lewis to come forth. The woman could be lying, but whether she is or not, still does not justify releasing Polanski. Bottom line is, he sexually abused an underage girl and there are laws against that, even for famous directors.

But Douglas obviously respects the law, and you have to respect him for that. Good for him.