Academy apologizes after stars say it ‘failed to defend’ Palestinian filmmaker

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apologized Friday for failing to defend an Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker who said he was attacked by Israeli settlers.

The group, which hosts and awards the Oscars each year, wrote to members after movie stars including Joaquin Phoenix, Penelope Cruz and Richard Gere had slammed its initially muted response to the incident.

The Academy “condemns violence of this kind anywhere in the world” and its leaders “abhor the suppression of free…