(JTA) — Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone in an interview decried what he called the Jewish lobby’s control over Washington’s foreign policy and said that Hitler’s actions should be put "into context."
Stone in an interview with the Sunday Times also said that "Jewish domination of the media" has prevented an honest discussion about the Holocaust.
Jewish organizational and Israeli officials condemned the remarks, which were published Sunday.
The article by reporter Camilla Long is not available online without a paid subscription to the newspaper, although British bloggers and other newspapers have printed excerpts.
During the interview, Stone said that Jews were dictating U.S. foreign policy and that the Jewish lobby "are hard workers."
"They stay on top of every comment, the most powerful lobby in Washington," he said, adding that "Israel has f—ed up United States foreign policy for years."
Stone, the winner of three Academy Awards, including as best director for "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July," has a Jewish father. He also directed such films as "Wall Street," "JFK" and "Nixon."
On Hitler, Stone said that the German leader “did far more damage to the Russians than the Jewish people, 25 or 30 million. Hitler was a Frankenstein, but there was also a Dr. Frankenstein — German industrialists, the Americans and the British. He had a lot of support.”
Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, in a brief statement said that "We are deeply offended. These are words of hate and a disgraceful evocation of anti-Semitism. Shame on Oliver Stone."
Israel’s public diplomacy minister, Yuli Edelstein, also condemned Stone’s remarks.
"They are nauseating, anti-Semitic and racist," the Jerusalem Post quoted Edelstein as saying. "Not only is he showing ignorance, he is demonizing Jews for no reason and returning to the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion.’
"When a man of Stone’s stature speaks in this way, it can bring waves of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment, and may even damage Jewish communities and individuals."
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Stone recently completed a documentary on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and is working on a documentary series about American history.
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