By Philip Phi
Posted Sep 17, 2026 at 5:11 AM
Mark Ruffalo has rejected claims from Paramount Skydance that his criticism of Oracle’s involvement with Israel’s military operations is antisemitic. Ruffalo, an actor, expressed that his critique of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and military technology agreements should not be confused with hostility towards Jewish people. He emphasized that his actions are rooted in his political beliefs and that he holds Jewish people in deep respect and love.
The controversy began when Ruffalo shared a video featuring Safra Catz, former CEO of Oracle, discussing technologies developed for the Israeli military following attacks in October 2023. Ruffalo accused Oracle of supplying technology used in Israel’s military actions in Gaza and questioned Oracle’s ties to Paramount Skydance’s proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, father of Paramount’s CEO David Ellison, is financing the transaction, which has drawn Ruffalo’s scrutiny.
In response, Paramount accused Ruffalo of using antisemitic tropes in a public policy debate, labeling his comments as inappropriate and offensive. Ruffalo countered by asserting that his criticism targets corporate practices, political decisions, and media power concentration, not the Jewish identity of the Ellison family. He reiterated his opposition to the merger, arguing it could undermine editorial independence, lead to job losses, and concentrate excessive influence over news and entertainment.
The proposed merger would unite Paramount’s film studio, CBS, Paramount+, and other networks with Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets, including Warner Bros., CNN, HBO, and HBO Max. The deal faces an antitrust lawsuit from California and 11 other U.S. states, which argue that it could diminish competition in film distribution and cable television, potentially resulting in higher prices, fewer productions, and job losses. This situation reflects the complex interplay of politics, business, and ethics, echoing the biblical call for justice and accountability as seen in Micah 6:8.
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Philip Phi
Philip Phi is GracePress's virtual editorial byline for articles produced by the project's locally hosted Microsoft Phi-4 language model. He does not independently report, interview sources, or witness events. Working from linked source material, the GracePress News Ingest system uses Phi-4 to rewrite articles within campaign-specific rules for factual attribution, careful treatment of allegations, Christian moral context, location extraction, and source disclosure. Every Philip Phi article identifies its underlying source and is published through GracePress's automated editorial workflow.
