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On December 19, Ethan Slater of SpongeBob fame made headlines after he took to his Instagram Story to share an open letter condemning Israel’s “brutal assault” on Gaza. The letter was addressed to the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School Community, which Ethan Slater attended.
The Wicked actor also said the open letter was written by a “fellow alumni of the school I went to,” which he signed. He also attached a Google Docs link to whoever wished to read it.
“My Jewish education taught me that the world must ‘never again’ stand by as violence and tragedy unfolds. As this letter articulates so well, we must extend that to communities beyond our own. Beyond the Jewish people. And right now, the Palestinians are under immediate threat from the State of Israel,” Slater wrote as an additional note.
For those uninitiated, Ethan Slater is a 31-year-old American actor and singer who is of Jewish descent.
Internet praises Ethan Slater for denouncing Israel’s bombardment of Gaza
On Tuesday, Arianna Grande’s Wicked co-star and rumored boyfriend Ethan Slater shared an excerpt of an open letter he signed that denounced Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, Palestine.
He said he signed a letter written by a fellow alumnus of his alma mater, the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School Community. Dated December 12, 2023, the contents of the letter read as follows:
“To the CESJDS Community, We are devastated by the Hamas massacre on October 7th, the ongoing Israeli hostage crisis, the injustice of arbitrary Palestinian detainment, and the horrors inflicted upon Gaza by Israel.”
The letter further stated that Israel’s “grave violations of human rights and international law,” not just since October 7, 2023, but for the last 75 years upon Palestine, was deeply concerning for them.
“If you are similarly struggling, questioning, or feeling alienated, by the unequivocal support for Israel that continues to be upheld by JDS as an institution and by the broader Jewish community, that raised us, you are not alone.”
The letter excerpt on Ethan Slater’s post was followed by a Google Docs link directing one to the whole letter and a form to add one’s signatures, names, and batch years. So far, nearly 200 alumni of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School Community have signed it.
Meanwhile, Ethan Slater’s personal note on his Instagram Story openly condemned Israel’s attack on Gaza and supported “calls for a ceasefire.”
“My Jewish education also, by design, gave me a one-sided view of Israel and its need for self-defense and safety. But it is impossible for me to understand how Israel’s treatment, occupation, and current bombardment of Palestinians make Jews anywhere any safer,” Slater added.
Ethan Slater wrapped up his post by urging the Jewish community to read the letter with “open eyes and an open heart.” After the SpongeBob SquarePants actor’s open and heartfelt appeal, fans came forward to shower praises on him. Here are some of the comments in this regard:
Here are some more reactions from the comments section of @BuzzingPop's tweet:
According to the Times of Israel, Slater was raised in a conservative Jewish family in suburban Washington, DC. He lost his mother at the age of 7 and grew up in the care of his physician father, Jay, and stepmother, Ellen.
Later, they moved to a conservative Jewish community, Ohr Kodesh, in Silver Springs, Maryland, where Ethan had his bar mitzvah and went to Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. He also took classes at Shoresh Hebrew High, co-founded by his dad, from where he learned about his Jewish background.
Eventually, the Broadway star also attended the Jewish Camp Ramah in New England, where he became interested in arts and music, which later helped shape his career.
