Natalie Portman Pulls Out Of Jewish Award Ceremony Over Recent Events In Israel

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Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman has pulled out of a major award ceremony due to take place in Israel, citing her “distress” at recent events in the country.

After refusing to attend the event an Israeli government minister has called for the actress to be stripped of her Israeli citizenship

Jerusalem-born Portman was due to receive the 2018 Genesis prize, dubbed the “Jewish Nobel” prize but pulled out saying she could not, in good conscience attend the ceremony

Her representative said that “recent events in Israel have been extremely distressing to her and she does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel” and that “she cannot in good conscience move forward with the ceremony”.

Sputnik news reports:

MP Oren Hazan, representing the center-right Likud party in the Knesset, demanded that the Hollywood star Natalie Portman be stripped of her Israeli citizenship after she blew off the ceremony of the Genesis Prize, dubbed the “Jewish Nobel.”

“Portman has no problems exploiting her Jewish roots to promote her career as well as expressing her pride for deferring from service [in Jewish Army]. And there are respected people who thought that she deserves the award, named the ‘Jewish Nobel Prize.’ But this is ‘The End’ title: Minister [Aryeh] Deri should take away her Israeli citizenship,” Hazan posted on Twitter.

The American actress, who was born in Israel with the name Hershlag and has been known for her commitment to her Jewish heritage, initially agreed to come to Israel this June to get $2 million for being “an inspiration to the next generation of Jews” for her professional achievements; later, however, she backed out of it.

The statement of Portman’s publicist, distributed by the organizing foundation, reads that “[r]ecent events in Israel have been extremely distressing to her and she does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel,” and “she cannot in good conscience move forward with the ceremony.”

The announcement doesn’t specify what exactly made Portman change her mind. But her decision followed the latest violent clashes on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli defense forces opened fire on Palestinian protesters, killing several. The move was condemned by the UN and the EU as disproportionally violent.

4 Comments

  1. “…has been known for her commitment to her Jewish heritage…” Threatened by American leftist muslim-sympathizers in Hollywood… Emphasis on ‘has been.’

  2. To be a supporter of the Jewish people and to be a supporter of the State of Israel have become entirely different things.

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