Alwaght- Israeli-American actress and director Natalie Portman has refrain from traveling to Occupied Palestinian territories to attend the so-called Jewish Noble ceremony, saying that Tel Aviv regime's crackdown on Palestinian protesters "have been extremely distressing'' to her.
Israeli regime has drawn international criticism for its bloody clampdown on Palestinians protests in besieged Gaza strip during Great March for Return, in which its troops have killed 36 Palestinians and injured thousands more.
The Palestinian rally, dubbed the "Great March of Return," will last until May 15, which coincides with the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day (Day of Catastrophe) on which Israel was created. Every year on May 15, Palestinians all over the world hold demonstrations to commemorate Nakba Day, which marks the anniversary of the forcible eviction of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland by Israelis in 1948.
The $2 millionGenesis Prize has been awarded since 2014 to individuals for excellence in their professional fields and “who inspire others through their dedication to the Jewish community and Jewish values”.
The foundation that awards the Genesis Prize, which also calls itself Jewish Boble, quoted a representative for Portman as saying: “Recent events in Israel have been extremely distressing to her and she does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel."
The foundation said it admired Portman’s “humanity, and respects her right to publicly disagree with the policies of the government of Israel".
"However, we are very saddened that she has decided not to attend the Genesis Prize Ceremony in Jerusalem [al-Quds] for political reasons. We fear that Ms. Portman’s decision will cause our philanthropic initiative to be politicized".
Israeli regime’s culture minister, Miri Regev, said Portman was supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement which aims to isolate Israel over its mistreatment of Palestinians.
"I was sorry to hear that Natalie Portman fell like a ripe fruit into the hands of supporters of the BDS,” Regev said.
Minister of Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan expressed disappointment at Portman’s cancellation, and his office issued a statement saying she had been “duped by Hamas propaganda".
In a letter to the actress, the ministry said: “Sadly, it seems that you have been influenced by the campaign of media misinformation and lies regarding Gaza orchestrated by the Hamas terrorist group.”
However, the al-Quds-born actress, in statement published on her Instagram, rejected claims that se supports BDS movement, saying " By the same token, I am not part of the BDS movement and do not endorse it. Like many Israelis and Jews around the world, I can be critical of the leadership in Israel without wanting to boycott the entire nation."
“I chose not to attend because I did not want to appear as endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu, who was to be giving a speech at the ceremony,” explained the 36-year-old Portman, adding "The mistreatment of those suffering from today’s atrocities is simply not in line with my Jewish values".
The Palestinian rally, dubbed the "Great March of Return," will last until May 15, which coincides with the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day (Day of Catastrophe) on which Israel was created. Every year on May 15, Palestinians all over the world hold demonstrations to commemorate Nakba Day, which marks the anniversary of the forcible eviction of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland by Israelis in 1948.
Israeli regime has stationed sharpshooters to disperse Gazans protests. Troops shot and killed four Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy on Friday and injured 157 protesters.
More than 760,000 Palestinians - now estimated to number nearly five million with their descendants - were driven out of their homes on May 14, 1948.
Since 1948, the Israeli regime has denied Palestinian refugees the right to return, despite UN resolutions and international law that upholds people’s right to return to their homelands.
