Entertainment

Here’s Why Natalie Portman Is Boycotting Israel

(Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Jena Greene Reporter
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Oscar winning actress and Israeli native Natalie Portman announced she will no longer make any more appearances or trips to Israel.

The “Black Swan” actress said she would no longer be traveling to Israel to accept the ‘Jewish Nobel’ prize she was awarded this year, according to the Genesis Prize Foundation.

Portman informed the Foundation that the “recent events in Israel have been extremely distressing to her” and that “she cannot in good conscience move forward with the ceremony.”

The actress later confirmed that she “does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel.”

And since Portman was the sole recipient of the prize, the Genesis Prize Foundation reportedly decided to cancel the event altogether.

“We fear that Ms. Portman’s decision will cause our philanthropic initiative to be politicized,” the Foundation said.

Fox News reports that 28 Palestinians have been killed in the last three weeks as fighting has ramped up along the border after an Israeli defense official offered glowing public commentary for a sniper who killed a Palestinian near the Gaza fence.

Now this may come as an inconvenient truth to Ms. Portman, but the fighting isn’t new. It existed when she was born in Israel back in 1981. And it’s been going on basically ever since. Palestinians kill Israelis, and Israelis kill Palestinians. I hope Natalie Portman is willing to disavow Palestine with as much vehemence as she just did for her birthplace. But it doesn’t make up for the sad fact that she’s embarrassed by where she comes from.

Portman has long been an outspoken figure in American politics. She heavily advocates for women’s rights and the Time’s Up movement, as well as gun control and racial empowerment. Most recently, Portman endorsed the March For Our Lives anti-gun march and claimed she “will follow Emma Gonzalez wherever she leads.”

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