I hate to give Mark Ruffalo more attention. But watching the controversy surrounding his latest comments unfold, I keep thinking about something that I learned when I recently visited the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. It’s about a word we don’t use nearly enough when discussing antisemitism: Shame.

Being accused of antisemitism should be troubling. And it is not because being called an antisemite is damaging to one’s reputation, nor should it be because of the fear that the accused might be canceled, boycotted  or criticized online. People should be bothered by the accusation because antisemitism itself is inherently shameful. It’s a distinction that seems to have gotten lost.

Ruffalo has been accused by Paramount, and now by several major Jewish organizations, of invoking antisemitic tropes in his campaign against the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. His argument connects the Ellison family, their wealth and control of major media properties, Oracle’s technology and its relationship with Israel. 

Ruffalo vehemently rejects the accusation. He has called it “appalling and fundamentally dishonest.” He insists that he is criticizing corporations, billionaires, the Israeli government and military technology, not Jews. And he has pointed to the Jewish friends, colleagues and loved ones who have shaped his life.

I don’t doubt that he has Jewish friends. But that’s precisely the problem with his response. We have somehow........

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