Jon Voight Tells Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem: 'Hang Your Heads in Shame'

Politics and war can tear everyone apart - including Oscar winners.

Actor Jon Voight has responded with fury and hurt to "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" actors and married couple Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, who signed an open letter denouncing Israel's actions in Gaza.

Several Spanish actors, including Cruz and Bardem, signed the letter which called Israel's actions "genocide," and called for the EU to "condemn the bombing by land, sea and air against the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip."

Voight has said he is "heartsick" that two influential people such as Cruz and Bardem could "incite anti-Semitism all over the world," claiming they "are oblivious to the damage they have caused."

“Israel has always labored for a peaceful relation with its Arab neighbors,” he wrote in a responsive open letter, published Saturday. “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...

“You have forgotten how this war started. Did Hamas not kidnap and kill three young teenagers for the sake of killing, and celebrated after the killing? What a travesty of justice...

“You have been able to become famous and have all your monetary gains because you are in a democratic country: America. Do you think you would have been able to accomplish this in Iran, Syria, Lebanon, et cetera? You had a great responsibility to use your celebrity for good. Instead, you have defamed the only democratic country of goodwill in the Middle East: Israel.

“You should hang your heads in shame. You should all come forth with deep regrets for what you did, and ask forgiveness from the suffering people in Israel," he concluded.

Voight is not the only one shocked by Cruz and Bardem's actions. Backlash in the social media forced the two to issue clarifications. Cruz said she is "not an expert on the situation" and that she only wishes for peace, while Bardem said this in a statement:

“I have great respect for the people of Israel and deep compassion for their losses. I am now being labeled by some as anti-Semitic, as is my wife — which is the antithesis of who we are as human beings. We detest anti-Semitism as much as we detest the horrible and painful consequences of war."