Why Homeland’s Howard Gordon omitted Israel in his speech

I gave “Homeland”’s Howard Gordon crap in” target=”_blank” title=”UCLA’s One Day Israel University”>UCLA’s One Day Israel University where he was the luncheon’s guest speaker, he recognized me from my blog and said he loved it. Firstly, um, woah. He actually read and loved ZOAngel . Secondly, he was happy I gave him crap. It was justified. He wished he would have mentioned Israel—but he felt rushed and the lights were dimming and I think he said he could make out Morgan Freeman yawning in the audience—and he felt pressured to get off the stage.

When he did, he turned to Gidi Raff, the co-executive producer, and asked “did I mention that the project was brought to us from Israel?” Raff said “no.” He was bummed. He also regrets not thanking his wife.

But during his talk he spoke very proudly of his ties to Israel and how it has been one of his most personally fulfilling projects because of his own connection to Israel. At the same time, though, he is a producer, and the show “Hatufim” stood on its own merits as a compelling idea—and his instincts were right. It’s arguably the best show on TV today.

I asked him during the Q&A where entertainment ends and political influence begins (someone told me after that he thinks Gordon was responsible for getting a black man into the White House following his casting of a black US President in “24”). He described his hit “24” as a type of post-911 “wish fulfillment” that drew fire from pundits who said the show encouraged Islamophobia and torture. “Homeland,” on the other hand, deals with the complexity of a war weary American society. He said he doesn’t hide behind a writer’s hat anymore and deny any personal conviction influencing the plot. But whatever he and the writers believe are funneled through complex plot and character—not propaganda (I’m imagining either Left or Right.) 

While I’m fine with his keeping his personal opinions a mystery, my guess is that he wouldn’t find what we say at the ZOA anathema, as would many Hollywood bigwigs. Who knows—maybe he reads our president ” target=”_blank” title=”Click here to find out about ZOA’s upcoming events. “>Click here to find out about ZOA West’s upcoming events.