JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

03/11/10 02:43 AM

namir yaarot, i second your post: i was also taken aback by Martin’s scripted (probably written by a Jewish humorist working the gig for the Oscars, I am sure that was NOT Martin’s own joke) joke about “well, christof....here they are.......[OPEN ARMS WIDE TO SHOW FULL AUDITORIUM]...the Motherlode (of Jews is what he meant) and the audience laughed. The joke itself was not antisem, but the words fall into the hands of the antisems in the internet and if you check to the blogs now and the commetns on the youtube video of the show, lots of white supremacist antisemities are commignt negatively on the JEWs who control Hollywood again. So Martin should not have said that: on my blog i say more

03/11/10 02:45 AM

The video of Martin’s words is here:

and there are 1000 comments after the video and many of them from antisemites, see?

Dear Lynn Elbers in Los Angeles and Veronika Oleksyn in Vienna—both AP reporters, who reported this news story—and by extention anyone else in the vaporsphere reading this blog entry—did you feel Steve Martin’s joke about “the Motherlode” of Jews in the Kodak Oscar theater that night of the Oscar awards was a bit bordering on the ANTISEMIITIC or giving ammunition to the antisemites out there in the Internet and the USA who falsely claim that Hollywood is run by Jews?

Lynn Elbers wrote in her AP story:

Christoph Waltz and his character played in the Tarantino movie “Unglorius Basterds” provided non-Jewish ceremony co-host Steve Martin with what some people cosidered tasteless and potentially misunderstood antisemitic material for an opening joke.

Noting that Waltz played a Nazi in the movie obsessed with finding Jews during WWII, Martin made a sweeping gesture to the auditorium filled with Hollywood insiders, then said, “The mother lode,” as Waltz grinned.

Robert Pental on Facebook asked me about this, writinng: “Hello Danny, What did Mr Martin say that was offensive, as I did not watch the Oscars, I am curious as to your take on his comment and is it possible to provide a video link to it. Thanks.”

03/11/10 02:52 AM

What made the joke tasteless and defenseless and in the end antisem is that Martin was talking about movie UB and how the Nazis were “hunting” the Jews in WWII and the movie and he turns to the actor in the movie in the audience in front of him and says “well, Christof, Jew hunter.....here they are......(opens arms wide).......long pause........the Moterlode (of the Jews) as if to repeat the canard that Jews run own and control Hwood. They do not. THey work there in numbers larger than the 3% of the total populatiom, sure, but Jews do not control or run Hwood. For every Barbara Streisand, there is a Sandra Bullock. For every Stephen Speilberg, there is a James Cameron. For every Harvery Weinstein, there is a Danny Boyle. So why does Martin do this joke, and more importantly, who does not anyone in the organized Jewish community in the USA, including Ami at JTA, talk about this antisemitic canard getting worldwide airing on TV. People around the world see the Oscars telecast, and they do not understnad that as a joke. Martin and his scriptwriters, the guy who that joke was prob Jewish, nice guy, sure, but wrong wrong to say that in public on TV and why no repsonse from Ami or Ben Harris here? Afraid to talk truth to power? Sigh. It will come back to haunt you.. Antisem must be fought every time it happens. Or else.