Hannah Einbinder’s Emmys Outburst: A Self-Hating Spectacle That Betrays Israel and Embarrasses Hollywood

By:  Fern Sidman

When Hannah Einbinder stepped onto the Emmy Awards stage Sunday night to accept the trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, she had an opportunity to show grace, humility, and gratitude. Instead, the Hacks star detonated her moment in the spotlight by spewing a crude and politically charged rant, shouting: “Go Birds, f—k ICE and free Palestine.”

As The New York Post reported on Monday, the 30-year-old actress—who has built her career portraying a neurotic comedy writer on HBO—chose to weaponize the world’s attention with a vulgar anti-Israel message that placed her squarely in the camp of self-haters and apologists for terror.

The moment, which quickly went viral, drew immediate backlash from Jewish leaders, commentators, and ordinary viewers alike. For many, Einbinder’s speech crystallized the growing problem of Hollywood celebrities using glittering stages not for artistry, but as megaphones for ideology that trivializes suffering and emboldens America’s enemies.

Award shows have always flirted with politics, but Einbinder’s choice of words shocked even seasoned observers. As The Post report noted, this was not a nuanced policy critique but an unvarnished slogan, the kind often heard on American college campuses dominated by radical activists rather than in a hall celebrating artistic achievement.

The actress’s closing line—“f—k ICE and free Palestine”—was met with cheers from the Hollywood crowd, a chilling reminder, as critics noted, of how detached the entertainment elite have become from the realities of terror and hostage-taking.

Joel Petlin, a respected Jewish educator, minced no words on X: “Any Jewish actress who uses her 15 minutes of fame to show support for the terrorists holding 48 hostages in Gaza has no moral compass. And the naive Hollywood audience that applauded her immoral statement is equally reprehensible. Hannah Einbinder was a real loser at the Emmys.”

His remarks echoed the frustration of countless Americans who saw Einbinder’s speech as more than performative wokeness—it was a betrayal of Israel, of Jewish history, and of basic decency.

If her Emmys outburst weren’t enough, Einbinder doubled down in comments to The Wrap, declaring it her “obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the State of Israel.”

This is the rhetoric of a self-hater, the same tired trope weaponized by fringe Jewish activists to legitimize antisemitic movements. As The Post report underscored, Einbinder positioned herself as the enlightened Jew, contrasting her faith and heritage against the Jewish state—a classic maneuver that gives cover to those who wish to isolate, delegitimize, and ultimately destroy Israel.

Her claim that Judaism and Israel are “separate” ignores the inseparable bond between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel that stretches back millennia. This is not simply “ethno-nationalism,” as Einbinder crudely put it, but the very foundation of Jewish survival and continuity. To deny that link is to erase Jewish history itself.

For someone who benefits from her identity in an industry eager to champion diversity, Einbinder’s denunciation of Israel was not only intellectually dishonest but deeply hypocritical.

The New York Post report highlighted the troubling reaction of the audience: applause and cheers. This wasn’t courage in the face of dissent; it was pandering to an ideological monoculture.

Hollywood, long mocked for its out-of-touch activism, revealed once again its embrace of slogans over substance. As Jewish journalist Dahlia Kurtz noted in a viral X post: “This is why Ricky Gervais had to lecture celebs on how to accept awards.”

Indeed, Gervais’ infamous Golden Globes monologue—warning actors to thank their agents and get off stage rather than lecture the world—seems prophetic in light of Einbinder’s antics.

But this moment was worse than narcissism. This was a Jewish actress, standing before millions, cheering a cause that directly aligns with groups holding innocent Israelis hostage and calling for Israel’s destruction.

Einbinder, a second-generation comedian and daughter of Saturday Night Live alum Laraine Newman, has enjoyed privileges and opportunities many in her industry never see. Her role in Hacks has earned her four consecutive Emmy nominations, culminating in Sunday’s win.

Yet rather than honor her craft, her colleagues, or the platform that elevated her, she hijacked the ceremony to deliver lines more at home in a student sit-in than on television’s biggest stage.

Her co-star Megan Stalter, who carried a bag emblazoned with “CEASE FIRE,” joined her in politicizing the evening. As The Post report observed, these stunts underscore how awards shows have become predictable stages for ideological exhibitionism rather than celebrations of excellence.

Einbinder’s denunciation of Israel comes at a time when Hamas still holds 48 hostages in Gaza. Her call to “free Palestine” conspicuously ignored the plight of those captives, the Jewish families torn apart, and the ongoing trauma inflicted on civilians.

Critics were quick to highlight the grotesque irony. How can one claim to be “speaking truth” or fighting for “justice” while ignoring the terrorism that triggered the conflict in the first place? As The Post report stressed, Einbinder’s sloganizing amounted to excusing or even endorsing the groups responsible for bloodshed.

Her silence on Hamas’s atrocities spoke louder than her words.

Einbinder’s comments did not emerge in a vacuum. They reflect a broader trend of young, progressive Jews in America distancing themselves from Israel, often adopting rhetoric indistinguishable from those who despise Jews altogether.

This phenomenon, documented extensively in The Post and other outlets, is rooted in a dangerous blend of ignorance and virtue signaling. By portraying Israel as an oppressive regime separate from Judaism, figures like Einbinder legitimize antisemitic narratives while cloaking themselves in a false moral superiority.

The result? They become tools for movements that would happily see Jews erased from both Israel and the Diaspora.

What makes Einbinder’s rant so damaging is not her personal views alone, but the platform she occupies. Millions watched her speech. Millions saw a Jewish actress proclaiming solidarity with a cause often associated with the delegitimization of Israel and the justification of violence against Jews.

As The New York Post reported, this message reverberates far beyond Hollywood, feeding into the normalization of antisemitic discourse on college campuses, in activist circles, and online.

For a performer who owes her success to an industry built by Jewish talent and protected by the freedoms Israel helps defend, Einbinder’s words amounted to biting the hand of her own people.

Already, backlash has spread across social media, with Jewish leaders and commentators condemning Einbinder’s outburst as self-destructive and dangerous. The incident has sparked debate not only about her career but also about Hollywood’s increasing complicity in normalizing anti-Israel sentiment.

As The Post report indicated, Einbinder’s Emmys “win” may ultimately prove to be a loss—for her reputation, for Hollywood’s credibility, and for the Jewish community she claims to represent.

Hannah Einbinder had a chance to shine as an actress, to honor her colleagues, and to inspire aspiring performers. Instead, she will be remembered for turning a career-defining moment into a vulgar tirade that betrayed her own people and pandered to the worst instincts of Hollywood’s activist elite.

Her words revealed not courage but cowardice—the cowardice of a self-hater eager to win applause by aligning with those who despise Israel and, by extension, Jews themselves.

As The New York Post report pointed out, Einbinder’s rant did not elevate her; it exposed her. She chose politics over principle, provocation over professionalism, and self-hatred over solidarity.

History will not remember her as a bold truth-teller but as an actress who squandered her moment, trading dignity for divisiveness.