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Rogen: "My words about Israel were said with humor" Israel today

2020-08-02T16:55:23.578Z


| TheaterApology stage: The Jewish star, who caused a stir when he claimed that the state should not exist and that he is "afraid of Jews", spoke with the chairman of the agency Herzog • "Israel is important to me" "My words have been taken out of context." Seth Rogen Photo:  AP Hollywood film star and satirist of Jewish-Canadian descent, Seth Rogen, spoke this weekend with the chairman of the Jewish ...


Apology stage: The Jewish star, who caused a stir when he claimed that the state should not exist and that he is "afraid of Jews", spoke with the chairman of the agency Herzog • "Israel is important to me"

  • "My words have been taken out of context." Seth Rogen

    Photo: 

    AP

Hollywood film star and satirist of Jewish-Canadian descent, Seth Rogen, spoke this weekend with the chairman of the Jewish Agency, Yitzhak Herzog, and clarified his harsh words against the State of Israel and the Jewish people. The conversation took place after Herzog addressed him in a personal letter.

In an interview last week, Rogen said, among other things, that he did not understand why Israel should exist. He added that "it is not necessary to put all the Jews in one basket, migration to different places is a better strategy. I do not understand why they did it (they established the State of Israel, etc.). It does not make sense."

Rogen also made it clear that he would not want to live in Israel, and that he thinks religion is "stupid." He said, "I grew up with a lot of lies about Israel, they never tell you, 'You know, by the way, there were people there before the Jews came.'" Finally, he added that he was "afraid of Jews." As expected, Rogen's anti- Semitic and anti-Israel statements Caused a stir, after being published in the media in Israel and the United States.

Herzog's letter was passed on to Rogen's parents by the Jewish community in Vancouver, the Canadian city where he grew up. About an hour later, he called the Jewish Agency's World Situation Room himself and asked to speak with Herzog to clarify his remarks, which he claimed were made as a joke and taken out of context. In a zoom conversation between the two, Rogen told Herzog: "What was missing in the conversation is what I did not say. I definitely support the right to exist of the State of Israel."

At the beginning of the conversation, Herzog told Rogen: "Many Israelis and Jews around the world and in the world have been personally hurt by your statement, which implies a denial of Israel's right to exist. .

Rogen said in response that "I did not mean it at all. My words were said as a joke in a critical humorous dialogue with a Jewish colleague in the satire profession. I am aware of articles published about me in Israel. What was missing in the interview is how important Israel is to me, and of course I believe it should exist." Rogen added that "I had no intention of questioning the right to exist of Israel. I did not understand correctly and I apologize for that statement."

The two then discussed what is happening in Israel these days. Herzog described to Rogen that his parents knew when they volunteered at Kibbutz Beit Alfa during the 1970s, how vibrant Israeli democracy is these days. He invited Rogen and his friends to learn more about what is happening in Israel: "Your apology is important, but anti-Israel elements use your interview to discredit the State of Israel in the world." Rogen replied that he was aware of the abuse being done now in his statement, emphasizing that he was very concerned about the rising anti-Semitism and that he himself was fighting it daily and helping the Jewish community on this issue.

Rogen also referred in the conversation to the culture of debate in the Jewish tradition, saying that questioning and asking questions is a basic thing in Judaism, and in some of the interviews he participates in he asks with sharp humor questions about almost everything. "I made this conversation with humor," he reiterated. "Do not ignore the fact that Jews in the Diaspora often have to stand at the forefront and explain the State of Israel, and sometimes we do not know how or what to explain."

At the end of the conversation, Herzog invited Rogen to visit Israel, take a tour of the country with him and meet and get to know the fascinating Israeli mosaic.

Source: israelhayom

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