In case you thought “cancel culture” was a thing of the past, there’s one position that can immediately lead to immense blowback and financial harm in the modern world: supporting Israel.
The entertainment industry, filled with those on the extreme far left of the political spectrum, has now become a hotbed of anti-Israel sentiment. Partially due to the views of many younger creatives and executives, and partially due to fear of angry reactions and boycotts from certain online communities.
Even for actors with successful, lengthy careers, speaking up in support of Israel in 2026 carries immense risk. And can cost jobs, opportunities, or hurt relationships with comedians, clubs, or staff at comedy shows. Just ask Michael Rapaport, who has consistently worked for 30-plus years, only to find that steadfast support of Israel was “controversial” enough to get him “ghosted” by the industry.
Rapaport told Craig Carton for the premiere of his new OutKick program, “The Craig Carton Show” that it’s been an “issue” for him in 2026.
“No, the yeah, the career stuff has been a problem,” Rapaport said. “There’s been an issue. The show’s being boycotted. Sucks. It doesn’t make anybody comfortable. It doesn’t make the club comfortable. It doesn’t make the other comedians comfortable.”
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Rapaport explained that some club staff have told him they’ve faced threats and harassment simply for booking him, and shows have been canceled due to safety concerns.
“…. There was a show in Chicago and they said, ‘We’re not just getting threats that the club staff is getting called and harassed on social media, that if you go to work, this is going to happen to you’…’We have to cancel this show because the police are saying they can’t promise they can be there on Thursday night.'”
As for the movie and television business, Rapaport explained that after years of consistently booking jobs, he now gets “ghosted” because studios are “worried about protests on Twitter” for hiring a pro-Israel actor.
Then there’s the “personal aspect of it,” that as a proud Jewish New Yorker, Rapaport now gets attacked and verbally threatened in his home city.
“Being heckled in New York hurt,” he said. He’ll hear walking down the street comments like, ‘There’s the fâing zionist.’
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“Anti-semitic, anti-Jewish stuff,” Rapaport continued. “That hurts me, it embarrasses me, I don’t want any other Jewish people behind me to feel uncomfortable, or scared or hesitant to fight, stand up and be proud, however they do it.”
It’s an unfortunate reality that blatant hatred towards openly Jewish people is now virtually an expectation in major blue cities. Despite New York long being home to a large Jewish community, the city’s increasing tolerance for extremist rhetoric through Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made it so some are “uncomfortable” wearing traditionally religious items.
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