Harvey Weinstein has choice words about anti-Semites

Harvey Weinstein has a plan to deal with the world’s anti-Semites: “Kick them in the ass.”

That’s what the movie mogul told a packed audience at the Beverly Hilton Hotel after he accepted the Humanitarian Award at the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s National Tribute Dinner. Weinstein said people of Jewish faith have come under increasing pressure in recent years, especially in Europe and the Middle East.

“I think it’s time that we, as Jews, get together with the Muslims who are honorable and peaceful, but we also have to go and protect ourselves,” he said. “There’s a quote from Kurt Vonnegut’s book ‘The Sirens of Titan’ and it always was the motto of Miramax and now the Weinstein Co. It says, ‘Good can triumph over evil if the angels are as organized as the mafia.’”

Weinstein added: “We are going to have to get as organized as the mafia. We just can’t take it anymore, we just can’t take these things. There’s gotta be a way to fight back.”

Actor Christoph Waltz presented the award to Weinstein and pointed out that the producer has made a number of films dealing with Jewish issues and the Holocaust. Among them are “Inglourious Basterds,” “The Imitation Game” and “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.”

Tuesday night’s gala is one of the Wiesenthal Center’s main fundraising events of the year. The center, which runs the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, is also in the midst of building a massive complex in Jerusalem.

DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was the emcee of the event, announced that $50 million has been raised toward construction costs of the center in Jerusalem. He said the cost to build the center were about 87% covered due to the donation.

Twitter: @JoeBelBruno