Israel-Palestine

Melissa Barrera dice que su despido de la franquicia 'Scream' no la silenciará y dice que no es antisemita.

La actriz respondió a su expulsión de "Scream 7" con una declaración en su historia de Instagram, explicando por qué ha dado demasiadas opiniones sobre la guerra en el Oriente Medio.

Por supuesto, fueron las historias de Instagram de Melissa las que la echaron de la película en primer lugar, después de que la productora detrás de "Scream 7" considerara sus comentarios incitadores al odio y antisemitas.

En respuesta, Melissa dice ... "El silencio no es una opción para mí".

Ella comienza condenando el antisemitismo y la islamofobia y habla en contra del odio y los prejuicios contra todas las personas.

Melissa dice que su herencia mexicana le hace sentir la responsabilidad de utilizar su plataforma para "concienciar sobre temas que me preocupan y prestar mi voz a los necesitados".

Y añade: "Creo que un grupo de personas NO son su liderazgo, y que ningún órgano de gobierno debe estar por encima de la crítica".

Recordemos que Melissa fue despedida de "Scream 7" por sus posts sobre Israel y Palestina, incluyendo uno en el que aparentemente aludía a un viejo texto sobre la gente judía que controla los medios de comunicación. En otro post, Melissa comparó Gaza con un campo de concentración.

Spyglass Media Group, la productora detrás de su despido, dice que le mostró la puerta porque: "Tenemos tolerancia cero con el antisemitismo o la incitación al odio en cualquiera de sus formas, incluidas las referencias falsas al genocidio, la limpieza étnica, la distorsión del Holocausto o cualquier cosa que cruce flagrantemente la línea de la incitación al odio".

Melissa Barrera says her firing from the 'Scream' franchise won't silence her ... and she says she's not antisemitic.

The actress responded to her "Scream 7" ouster with a statement on her Instagram story, explaining why she's been so vocal about the war in the Middle East.

Of course, it was Melissa's IG stories that got her booted from the movie in the first place ... after the production company behind "Scream 7" deemed her comments hate-inciting and antisemitic.

In response, Melissa says ... "Silence is not an option for me."

She starts out by condemning antisemitism and Islamaphobia ... and speaks out against hate and prejudice against all people.

Melissa says her Mexican heritage makes her feel a responsibility to use her platform to "raise awareness about issues I care about and to lend my voice to those in need."

She adds ... "I believe a group of people are NOT their leadership, and that no governing body should be above criticism."

Remember ... Melissa got fired from "Scream 7" for her posts about Israel and Palestine, including one where she seemingly alluded to a long-standing trope about Jewish people controlling the media. In another post, Melissa compared Gaza to a concentration camp.

Spyglass Media Group, the production company behind her firing, says it showed her the door because ... "We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech."

Melissa Barrera está fuera de su papel protagónico en la franquicia "Scream", y la productora que la despidió dice que se debe a sus publicaciones en redes sociales que considera incitadoras al odio y antisemitas.

La actriz iba a asumir de nuevo el papel protagónico en "Scream VII" después de protagonizar "Scream" y "Scream VI", pero al parecer ha sido despedida debido a publicaciones sobre Israel y Palestina.

Las declaraciones más polémicas de Melissa incluyeron una historia de Instagram donde aparentemente alude a un comentario de larga data sobre personas judías que controlan los medios de comunicación.

Ella escribió:  "He estado buscando activamente videos e información sobre el lado palestino durante las últimas 2 semanas más o menos, siguiendo cuentas, etc. ¿Por qué? Porque los medios de comunicación occidentales solo muestran el otro lado. Por qué lo hacen, dejaré que lo deduzcas por ti mismo".

En otros posts, Melissa habría comparado Gaza con un campo de concentración, calificando la guerra en Oriente Medio de "genocidio" y "limpieza étnica" y refiriéndose a Israel como una tierra "colonizada".

Variety fue el primero en informar sobre el despido de Melissa y ella parecía estar abordando el martes con un post declarando que prefiere ser excluida por quien incluye que incluida por quien excluye.

Christopher Landon, que va a dirigir "Scream VII", reaccionó en las redes sociales, diciendo: "Todo apesta. Dejen de gritar. No fue mi decisión".

Spyglass Media Group, la productora que sí tomó la decisión, dice que lo hizo, porque: "Tenemos tolerancia cero con el antisemitismo o la incitación al odio en cualquiera de sus formas, incluidas las referencias falsas al genocidio, la limpieza étnica, la distorsión del Holocausto o cualquier cosa que cruce flagrantemente la línea de la incitación al odio".

Melissa interpreta a Sam Carpenter en "Scream" y "Scream VI", pero ahora algunos grandes cambios están en el horizonte para "Scream VII".

Otras actrices están recibiendo golpes por declaraciones sobre la guerra, como informamos, Susan Sarandon fue despedida de su agencia de talentos de Hollywood por un polémico discurso en una manifestación pro Palestina en Nueva York.

Melissa Barrera is out of her starring role in the 'Scream' franchise, and the production company that fired her says it's due to her social media posts it deems hate-inciting and antisemitic.

The actress was set to once again assume the leading role in "Scream VII" after starring in "Scream" and "Scream VI" ... but she's reportedly been let go because of posts about Israel and Palestine.

Melissa's more controversial statements included an Instagram story where she seemingly alludes to a longstanding trope about Jewish people controlling the media.

She wrote ...  "I have been actively looking for videos and information about the Palestinian side for the last 2 weeks or so, following accounts etc. Why? Because Western media only shows the other side. Why they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself."

In other posts, Melissa reportedly compared Gaza to a concentration camp, calling the war in the Middle East "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing" ... and referring to Israel as a "colonized" land.

Variety was first to report on Melissa's firing ... and she seemed to be addressing it Tuesday with a post declaring she would rather be excluded for who she includes than included for who she excludes.

Christopher Landon, who is set to direct 'Scream VII,' reacted on social media, saying ... "Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make."

Spyglass Media Group, the production company that did make the decision, says it did so, because ... "We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech."

Melissa plays Sam Carpenter in "Scream" and "Scream VI" ... but now some big changes are on the horizon for "Scream VII."

Other actresses are taking hits for statements on the war -- as we reported, Susan Sarandon was dropped from her Hollywood talent agency for a controversial speech at a pro-Palestine rally in NYC.

Susan Sarandon is facing swift backlash over her pro-Palestinian and anti-Jewish rant ... because a famous Hollywood talent agency just showed her the door.

The Oscar-winning actress is no longer being represented by United Talent Agency, where scores of staffers were upset by her strong views on the Israel-Hamas war ... according to Page Six.

Susan railed against Israel during a pro-Palestine protest Friday in New York City, and said this about Jewish people in America, specifically ... "There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country."

Grabbing a microphone at the rally, Susan also told the crowd being anti-Palestinian is the end result of American brainwashing that starts at a young age.

The controversial comments are making the rounds online, and drawing tons of criticism over social media ... and now Susan's facing consequences in real life.

Susan reportedly signed with UTA back in 2014 ... and this year she's had roles in two movies, "Blue Beetle" and "Maybe I Do," plus gigs on a few TV shows.

Susan Sarandon está enfrentando fuertes reacciones por su discurso pro-palestino y anti-judío: una famosa agencia de talentos de Hollywood decidió abandonarla.

La actriz ganadora del Oscar ya no está representada por United Talent Agency, donde decenas de empleados se molestaron por sus fuertes opiniones sobre la guerra entre Israel y Hamás, según cuenta Page Six.

Susan arremetió contra Israel durante una protesta pro-Palestina el viernes en la ciudad de Nueva York, donde dijo esto particularmente sobre los judíos en Estados Unidos: "Hay un montón de gente con miedo de ser judío en este momento, y están recibiendo una muestra de lo que se siente ser musulmán en este país".

Agarrando un micrófono, Susan también le dijo a la multitud que ser anti-palestino es el resultado del lavado de cerebro de Estados Unidos que comienza a temprana edad.

Los polémicos comentarios se están viralizando en línea y atrayendo toneladas de críticas en redes sociales, y ahora Susan se enfrenta a las consecuencias en la vida real.

Según los informes, Susan firmó con United Talent Agency en 2014 y este año ha tenido papeles en dos películas, "Blue Beetle" y "Maybe I Do", además de actuaciones en algunos programas de televisión.

Bill Maher has an interesting take on us Americans -- we have way too many opinions on stuff that doesn't matter, and maybe we should all shut the f*** up.

The 'Real Time' host made people think Friday night -- think back just a few decades when we could consume news without making every story a battle cry about something we know little or nothing about.

Bill's got a point ... take Kylie Jenner, who posted she stands with the people of Israel and then almost immediately took that post down. As Bill says, that's kinda the opposite of standing with.

Get this -- 59% of us buy or boycott products based on the company's political or social views ... views that have nothing to do with the product itself. Just ask Anheuser-Busch or Target.

Bill says there's virtue in having NO opinion because the more we draw lines in the sand, the more divided we become.  As BM grouses, Thanksgiving has become a time when family and friends can gather together and fight about Donald Trump.

11/21 -- 10:05 AM PT --  The class action lawsuit against Coach USA has been voluntarily withdrawn.

12:11 PM PT -- Colin Emberson, VP of Commercial for Coach USA tells TMZ ... "We have become aware of an incident that took place on Tuesday, November 14 wherein charter customers from another bus company were left stranded on their way to a rally in Washington, DC. Coach USA was not in any way involved in this incident. In fact, Coach USA successfully carried passengers on 74 charter buses from New Jersey and Maryland to the rally on Tuesday as planned."

A bus company is being taken to court after allegedly failing to deliver on its contract to transport protesters trying to get to the March for Israel rally after its drivers refused to drive them ... and the plaintiff is claiming it's owed damages for religious discrimination.

A guy named Doron Orbach is suing Coach USA in a class action lawsuit, alleging violations of several federal anti-discrimination laws -- including the Civil Rights Act -- that he claims Coach is liable in connection with his attempt to get folks to the D.C. protest in support of Israel.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Orbach -- who's Jewish and Israeli -- says the Israeli American Council had booked buses through Coach to transport upwards of 900 individuals that day to go from various pickup points across the East Coast ... and to pull up for the march in D.C.

But Orbach claims Coach never picked up these folks like they were scheduled to -- and he alleges it was all due to a coordinated effort on the part of its drivers/employees refusing to do the job based on their "discriminatory animus" towards Jewish people.

The lawsuit says that multiple Coach bus drivers staged a "sick out" that day as a way to avoid picking up these hundreds of people ... a majority of whom, Orbach says, were Jewish or of Israeli origin.

As a result of this alleged discrimination ... Orbach claims his civil and human rights were violated -- as were those of everyone else who missed the rally as a result. Orbach says Coach knew or should have known about the possibility of its drivers backing out and failed to take measures to prevent it ... and it suing for unspecified damages.

Una compañía de autobuses está siendo llevada a los tribunales por, supuestamente, no cumplir con su contrato de transportar a los manifestantes que trataban de llegar a una Marcha por Israel. Todo esto, después de que sus conductores se negaran a llevarlos, y el demandante está reclamando daños y perjuicios por discriminación religiosa.

Un tipo llamado Doron Orbach está demandando a Coach USA en una demanda colectiva, alegando violaciones de varias leyes federales contra la discriminación, incluyendo la Ley de Derechos Civiles. El sujeto afirma que Coach es responsable por no haber llevado a los adherentes a la protesta de D.C. en apoyo de Israel.

Según los documentos obtenidos por TMZ, Orbach, que es judío e israelí, dice que el Consejo Americano de Israel había reservado autobuses a través de Coach para el transporte de más de 900 personas ese día. Estaban previstos varios puntos de recogida en toda la Costa Este, que tenían como destino final la marcha en Washington DC.

Pero Orbach afirma que Coach nunca recogió a estas personas como estaba previsto, y alega que todo se debió a un esfuerzo coordinado por parte de sus conductores/empleados y su "animadversión discriminatoria" contra los judíos.

La demanda dice que varios conductores de la empresa organizaron un "despido por enfermedad" ese día para evitar recoger a estos cientos de personas, la mayoría de los cuales, dice Orbach, eran judíos o de origen israelí.

Como resultado de esta supuesta discriminación, Orbach afirma que se violaron sus derechos civiles y humanos, al igual que los de todos los demás que no acudieron a la manifestación. Orbach dice que Coach sabía o debería haber sabido sobre la posibilidad de que sus conductores se retractaran y no tomó medidas para evitarlo. Por ese motivo están demandando por daños y perjuicios no especificados.

3:45 PM PT -- TMZ obtained the mugshot for suspected killer Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji.

In the booking photo, Alnaji appears to be holding back a smile.

Cops have a man in custody for the death of Paul Kessler ... the Jewish man who was killed at a pro-Palestinian rally in California earlier this month.

50-year-old Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji was arrested Thursday for allegedly killing the 69-year-old man. He's been booked for involuntary manslaughter and is being held at the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility.

Alnaji's bail is set at $1 million, and officials are still asking citizens to come forward with any information surrounding the fatal incident.

As we reported, Kessler was at a pro-Israel rally on November 5, and a pro-Palestinian rally was going on at the same time nearby -- all stemming from the war between Israel and Hamas.

Law enforcement told us Kessler got into a heated argument with the Palestinian supporters, leading to a physical fight -- and was eventually knocked backward, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground.

3:45 PM PT -- TMZ obtuvo la ficha policial del presunto asesino Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji.

En la foto, Alnaji parece contener una sonrisa.

La policía tiene a un hombre en custodia por la muerte de Paul Kessler, el manifestante judío que fue asesinado en un mitín pro-palestino en California a principios de este mes.

Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, de 50 años, fue detenido el jueves por presuntamente causar la muerte del hombre de 69 años. Ha sido fichado por homicidio involuntario y está detenido en el centro de detención preventiva del condado de Ventura.

La fianza de Alnaji se ha establecido en $1 millón y los funcionarios todavía están pidiendo a los ciudadanos que se presenten en caso de tener cualquier información que rodee el fatal incidente.

Como informamos, Kessler estaba en una manifestación pro-Israel el 5 de noviembre, donde al mismo tiempo estaba ocurriendo una concentración pro-Palestina muy cerca. Todo esto, derivado de la guerra entre Israel y Hamás.

Las fuerzas del orden nos dijeron que Kessler entró en una acalorada discusión con los partidarios palestinos, lo que llevó a una pelea física. Este fue golpeado y empujado hacia atrás, lo que provocó que se cayera y se golpeara la cabeza contra el suelo.

Dozens of pro-Palestine protesters descended onto a very busy bridge in Northern California -- and at the worst time too ... as people were trying to get to work!

Countless demonstrators blocked off traffic and completely halted activity on the upper deck of San Francisco's Bay Bridge -- and they made sure to let everyone know they weren't going anywhere ... with multiple people chaining themselves to one another/to their cars.

Of course, they had megaphones and signage with them ... all of which called for a ceasefire between Palestine and Israel, while calling on a pause of U.S. aid to Israel specifically.

Some of the more theatrical protesters even laid out on the ground and threw white sheets over themselves ... as a way to reenact/recreate the people being killed in the Middle East. It certainly made a statement -- but it's hard to tell how effective this was, 'cause there were A LOT of angry commuters trying to get in and out of the area for work in the morning.

Not only was traffic backed up to high heaven ... but cops eventually landed on the scene and tried to clear the road, which ultimately ended in a ton of arrests (upwards of 50 or so).

Tow trucks were also brought in to clear the protesters' cars that were completely cutting off lanes -- which was necessary seeing how some of the protesters chucked their keys.

In the end ... the bridge was finally cleared, but it took a long time and a lot of resources.

Decenas de manifestantes pro-Palestina descendieron sobre un puente muy concurrido en el norte de California, y en el momento más inoportuno también, ¡justo cuando la gente estaba intentando llegar al trabajo!

Innumerables manifestantes bloquearon el tráfico y detuvieron por completo la actividad en uno de los segmentos del puente de San Francisco, y se aseguraron de decirles que no iban a ir a ninguna parte, ya que varias personas se encadenaron entre sí y a sus carros.

Por supuesto, tenían megáfonos y carteles que pedían un alto al fuego entre Palestina e Israel, y una pausa en la ayuda que Estados Unidos da a Israel específicamente.

Algunos de los manifestantes más teatrales incluso se tumbaron en el suelo y se cubrieron con sábanas blancas para recrear a las personas asesinadas en Medio Oriente. Ciertamente hicieron una declaración, pero es difícil saber qué tan efectiva fue, porque un montón de personas se enojaron mientras intentaban salir y entrar de la zona para llegar al trabajo.

La policía finalmente aterrizó en la escena y trató de despejar el camino, que en última instancia terminó con una tonelada de arrestos (más de 50 o por ahí).

También llevaron grúas para despejar los carros de los manifestantes que estaban completamente cortando los carriles, y que incluso arrojaron sus llaves.

Al final el puente fue despejado, pero tomó mucho tiempo y una gran cantidad de recursos.

10:20 AM PT -- A TikTok spokesperson tells TMZ ... "Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism. We are proactively and aggressively removing this content and investigating how it got onto our platform. The number of videos on TikTok is small and reports of it trending on our platform are inaccurate. This is not unique to TikTok and has appeared across multiple platforms and the media."

Osama Bin Laden might've not been such a bad guy after all -- at least that's what a bunch of TikTokers think ... this after reading a post-9/11 letter he wrote, if you can believe that.

Here's the deal ... correspondence that the infamous terrorist architect of Sept. 11th wrote back in 2002 -- in response to the question of why he and his al-Qaeda followers carried out the deadly attacks -- has been going viral over the past 24 hours or so, but in a strange way.

Essentially, a bunch of people online read his "Letter to America" and apparently see some merit in his arguments over why he and his fellow terrorists decided to kill thousands of American civilians ... and yes, this all has to do with the current Israel-Palestine conflict.

You can go read the letter on your own, but OBL explicitly mentions the U.S.'s role in the Middle East dating back decades ... and claims our country has basically given him and his cohorts no choice but to retaliate to what he characterizes as unjust meddling in the region.

He also notes he's a Palestine sympathizer ... and that seems to be why all these Americans now are posting TikTok responses and suggesting -- "Y'know what, maybe he had a point."

It's a wild trend, and it's gone viral -- so much so, in fact, that one of the only mainstream Western publications that still had the letter up on their site (The Guardian) actually took it down ... and their rationale boils down to it not having their original proper context.

Of course, it's understandable why they'd remove it ... seeing how it justifies committing mass murder on many, many Americans -- something some folks in 2023 seem to cool with!

Like we said, most of the folks reconsidering their view on 9/11 are echoing the pro-Palestine/anti-Israel rhetoric we've seen in protests for weeks now ... and while some are trying to walk the line of condemning Bin Laden's tactics for dealing with his grievances (aka, deadly terrorism) and supporting his root cause, others are blurring the line a bit.

If that sounds concerning ... well, that's 'cause it is. Those who are finding validity in Bin Laden's key points are now saying they were brainwashed by U.S. propaganda into hating the guy and supporting the American effort to root out radical Islamist terrorism in the '00s.

Naturally, others are screaming revisionist history ... and are beside themselves that any American could see Bin Laden as an oppressed victim. Talk about never forget, huh?

3:36 PM PT -- Un representante de la Universidad de Nueva York nos dice que "Las afirmaciones en esta demanda no describen con precisión las condiciones en nuestro campus o las muchas medidas que NYU ha estado tomando para luchar contra el antisemitismo y mantener el campus seguro. El antisemitismo viola nuestras normas; nos tomamos las cuestiones del antisemitismo y cualquier otra forma de odio extremadamente en serio, y estamos comprometidos a salvaguardar nuestra comunidad y proporcionar un entorno en el que todos los estudiantes puedan vivir y aprender en paz".

Continúan: "La NYU fue una de las primeras universidades de EE.UU. en condenar públicamente el ataque terrorista de Hamás contra Israel. La NYU mantiene lo que es posiblemente la mayor presencia académica en Israel de cualquier gran universidad de EE.UU., nuestro programa NYU Tel Aviv ha rechazado rotundamente todos los llamamientos para cerrarlo". La escuela dice que también ha añadido patrullas de seguridad y ha expuesto el hecho de que el antisemitismo viola las normas de la escuela y quienes lo infrinjan se enfrentarán a las consecuencias.

El antisemitismo está vivo en la Universidad de Nueva York. Al menos según un grupo de estudiantes judíos que están demandando a la escuela sobre el fanatismo rampante.

La Universidad de Nueva York ha sido llevada a los tribunales por tres estudiantes judíos que afirman que la universidad no les protege de lo que consideran un "atroz" antisemitismo en el campus.

En los documentos obtenidos por TMZ, los estudiantes afirman que la guerra Israel/Hamás está haciendo del campus un lugar tóxico y peligroso para los estudiantes judíos y alegan que la universidad se niega a hacer cumplir sus propias políticas contra la discriminación.

Los estudiantes judíos afirman que a menudo se enfrentan en el campus con gente que canta "Hitler tenía razón", "Gas a los judíos" y "Muerte a los judíos".

En su demanda, los estudiantes acusan a los administradores y profesores de la NYU de promover y fomentar un ambiente hostil hacia los judíos, afirmando que sus compañeros y profesores demonizan, amenazan y maltratan repetidamente a los estudiantes judíos.

Las cosas en el campus son tan malas, afirma la demanda, los estudiantes judíos están siendo "puestos en grave riesgo de lesiones emocionales y físicas extremas".

En los documentos, los estudiantes judíos dicen que la administración de NYU se niega a hacer cumplir el Título VI de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964 y las leyes de derechos civiles del estado de Nueva York, las cuales están diseñadas para proteger a las personas contra la discriminación por motivos de raza, color u origen.

3:36 PM PT -- A rep for NYU tells us, in part, "The assertions in this suit do not accurately describe conditions on our campus or the many steps NYU has been taking to fight antisemitism and keep the campus safe.  Antisemitism violates our rules; we take the issues of antisemitism and any other forms of hate extremely seriously, and we are committed to safeguarding our community and providing an environment in which all students can live and learn in peace."

They continue, "NYU was among the first universities in the US to publicly condemn Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel; NYU maintains what is arguably the largest academic presence in Israel of any major US university, our NYU Tel Aviv program, and has flatly rejected all calls to close it." The school says it's also added security patrol and has laid out the fact antisemitism violates school rules, and those who violate will face consequences.

Antisemitism is alive and terrifying at New York University ... at least according to a group of Jewish students who are now suing the school over the rampant bigotry.

NYU is being dragged to court by 3 Jewish students who claim the university is failing to protect them from what they feel is "egregious" antisemitism on campus.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, the students claim the Israel-Hamas war is making campus a toxic and dangerous place for Jewish students ... and they allege the university is refusing to enforce its own anti-discrimination policies.

The Jewish students claim they are often confronted on campus by folks chanting, "Hitler was right," "Gas the Jews" and "Death to k**es."

In their suit, the students accuse NYU administrators and professors of fostering and fomenting a hostile environment toward Jewish people ... claiming peers and faculty repeatedly demonize, threaten and abuse Jewish students.

Things on campus are so bad, the suit claims, Jewish students are being "put at severe risk of extreme emotional and physical injury."

In the docs, the Jewish students say NYU administration is refusing to enforce Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and New York's state civil rights laws ... which are designed to protect people from discrimination based on race, color or national origin.