Simon Wiesenthal Center Leader Criticizes Mark Ruffalo’s Comments on Paramount Deal as Obsessive and Demonizing

Jim Berk, CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, defended Paramount after the studio labeled Mark Ruffalo’s anti‑merger remarks antisemitic.

“Words matter, and so does the willingness to draw a line when legitimate debate slips into antisemitic tropes,” Berk wrote. “We commend Paramount for speaking clearly and refusing to let prejudice masquerade as political or corporate criticism. At a time when antisemitism is often minimized, rationalized or repackaged in more socially acceptable language, this kind of moral clarity is essential.”

“Invoking Israel in an issue where it is completely irrelevant is a textbook case of obsession and demonization. Paramount was right to call it out. More leaders and institutions should have the courage to label antisemitism for what it is, regardless of who is spreading it,” his statement concluded.

Earlier this week, the Oscar‑nominated actor, who has been an outspoken opponent of Paramount’s $111 billion deal for Warner Bros., highlighted Larry Ellison’s—Paramount CEO David Ellison’s father—Oracle ties to the Israeli military amid the Israel‑Gaza war. Ruffalo resurfaced a 2024 clip of former Oracle chief Safra Catz discussing “profoundly scary technologies” the tech company had built in relation to Israel’s war effort in Gaza. He also described the war as a “genocide” that “was built on an apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle.”

In response, Paramount pushed back, calling the Marvel star’s remarks antisemitic. The studio’s spokesperson said, in part, “We are, as always, troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in the guise of a business dispute. Words like ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid,’ applied to a corporate transaction, aren’t just wrong—they cross a line and cheapen the very real suffering those terms are meant to describe. This doesn’t merit a tit‑for‑tut response, and to be clear, we do not tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.”

Creative Community for Peace, a Hollywood‑based pro‑Israel advocacy group, has also urged Hollywood to boycott Ruffalo until he retracts these remarks and apologizes, according to the organization’s executive director, Ari Ingel.

“Mark Ruffalo’s rhetoric has increasingly crossed the line from criticism of Israel into extremist and antisemitic messaging,” Ingel wrote, adding, “Point blank, he has been warned before about the consequences of this rhetoric, yet continues contributing to the toxic antisemitic atmosphere we are witnessing today. That makes him culpable. His argument increasingly fuses hostility toward Israel and Zionism with Jewish‑associated wealth, media ownership, oligarchic power and ominous warnings about concentrated control into a single narrative. Those echoes are impossible to ignore.”

On Saturday, Ruffalo took to X to dismiss Paramount’s claims that his comments were antisemitic and to draw a distinction between his criticism of the Israeli military and his views about Jewish people. He wrote, in part, “The accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest. Criticizing the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticizing Jewish people. This critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti‑Israel.”

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