Jon Voight Slams 'Ignorant' Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz over Israel 'Genocide' Comments

Jon Voight has slammed Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz over their recent open letter comments branding Israel’s actions in Gaza as "genocide."

The actor, and father of Angelina Jolie, slated the couple for their "ignorance" in a seething column for the Hollywood Reporter.

Bardem and Cruz signed the open letter, released last week, along with a host of other Spanish actors, directors and musicians.

It called for a lifting "of the blockade which the Gaza Strip has suffered for more than a decade," and for the EU to "condemn the bombing by land, sea and air against the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip."

But Voight, a vocal Republican becoming known for his political outbursts, has condemned the remarks, accusing the pair of stoking anti-Semitism.

“My name is Jon Voight and I am more than angry, I am heartsick that people like Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem could incite anti-Semitism all over the world and are oblivious to the damage they have caused,” he wrote.

“They are obviously ignorant of the whole story of Israel’s birth, when in 1948 the Jewish people were offered by the U.N. a portion of the land originally set aside for them in 1921, and the Arab Palestinians were offered the other half.

“The Arabs rejected the offer, and the Jews accepted, only to be attacked by five surrounding Arab countries committed to driving them into the sea. But the Israelis won.”

He goes on: “The Arabs tried it again in 1967, and again in 1973, launching a sneak attack on the holiest Jewish holiday. Each time the Jews prevailed but not without great loss of life. And when Israel was not fighting a major war, it was defending itself against terrorist campaigns.

“And yet Israel has always labored for a peaceful relation with its Arab neighbors. It voluntarily returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in return for peace, and gave the Palestinians all of Gaza as a peace gesture. What was the response? The Palestinians elected Hamas, a terrorist organization, and they immediately began firing thousands of rockets into Israel," Voight said in his letter.

Source: Yahoo! Movies