A group called the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of ‘Israel’ in Lebanon are calling to boycott the new Marvel movie Thor: Love and Thunder…because star Natalie Portman is an Israeli and she does not oppose the very existence of Israel.
The movie “Thor: Love and Thunder” will be shown in some Lebanese theaters on July 8, and one of the main actresses is Natalie Portman, who holds Israeli citizenship .
Portman previously refused to receive the Israeli Genesis Prize for opposing Netanyahu’s policies, but quickly made it clear that at the same time she “does not support the global BDS movement and added: Like many Israelis and Jews in the world, I can be critical of the Israeli leadership without boycotting the nation.” Entire…Israel was established 70 years ago as a haven for people fleeing the Holocaust. But mistreating those who suffer atrocities today is incompatible with my Jewish values. Because I care about Israel, I must stand up against violence, corruption, inequality and the abuse of power. This experience taught me to I support a number of charities in Israel.”
Although Portman’s position is an expression of the escalation of hostility to Israeli policies even among some Israelis or who were born or raised in the Zionist entity, it is clear from her words that her problem is confined to some policies, not to the entity of “Israel” itself, which Portman considers to have been established. To be a “sanctuary for those fleeing the [Nazi] Holocaust ,” without caring about the fate of the more than 800,000 Palestinians who were expelled from Palestine, nor the 531 Palestinian villages destroyed to create this “sanctuary.” Portman’s problem is that modern Israeli policies have “sabotaged” the entity’s “original” image. That is, its position on “Israel” is in favor of this entity and in defense of its “origin” (or rather its original sin).
Therefore, the campaign to boycott Israel’s supporters in Lebanon calls on the Lebanese to boycott commercial screenings of this film, and calls on cinemas to withdraw it from their theaters.
In other words, the fact Portman is a critic of Israeli policies and rejected the Genesis Prize is not enough for these people. They oppose Israel’s very existence, so anyone not also doing so is persona non grata to them.
But do tell me how these boycotters are not antisemitic.
Meanwhile, I am sure this same group does not call to boycott Lebanese films over Lebanon’s discrimination of palestinian Arabs.