Thread: Natalie Portman snubs 'Jewish Nobel' in apparent protest against Israel

Natalie Portman snubs 'Jewish Nobel' in apparent protest against Israel

By Gregg Re | Fox News
9 mins ago

Natalie Portman is snubbing the awards ceremony for the so-called “Jewish Nobel," in an apparent protest against Israel's actions this year.

Actress Natalie Portman has announced that she is boycotting all public events in Israel, and will not attend the June awards ceremony of the so-called "Jewish Nobel" prize there despite winning the honor, the Genesis Prize Foundation said Thursday.

The foundation said it was informed by Portman's representative that the Jerusalem-born Oscar winner feels that "recent events in Israel have been extremely distressing to her" and that "she cannot in good conscience move forward with the ceremony."

As a result, Portman "does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel," the Genesis foundation said.

The prize ceremony will reportedly be cancelled as a result of Portman's decision.

Palestinians stage 2nd mass demonstration in one week, burning tires for hours in protest of Israel's occupation of Gaza; Conor Powell has the latest live from the border.

Israel has come under increasing scrutiny for its response to mass protests on the Gaza-Israel border, in which 28 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by Israeli fire since March 30.

Earlier this month, Israel's top defense official praised the sniper who shot a motionless Palestinian near the Gaza fence in a video that circulated widely on Monday, saying he "deserves a medal."

The demonstrations at the border are a new attempt by Hamas to break a crippling, decade-old Gaza border blockade by Israel and Egypt that's made it increasingly difficult for the Islamic militant group to govern.

"We fear that Ms. Portman's decision will cause our philanthropic initiative to be politicized."
- The Genesis foundation

The Genesis foundation said it was "very saddened" by Portman's decision. "We fear that Ms. Portman's decision will cause our philanthropic initiative to be politicized, something we have worked hard for the past five years to avoid," it said.

The prize was launched in 2013 to recognize Jewish achievement and contributions to humanity. Previous recipients include former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, actor Michael Douglas, violinist Itzhak Perlman and sculptor Anish Kapoor.

When Portman was announced late last year as the 2018 recipient, she said in a statement released by organizers at the time that she was "proud of my Israeli roots and Jewish heritage."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...st-israel.html

I think they should change it to Israeli Nobel and honor the people with great achievements who live in Israel. Israel is really amazing, what they've done in such a few years with business and industry and so much more that most people don't know anything about and would like to know. All we see and hear about are religious sites and political squabbles and bombings and conflicts with the Palestinians. There is a much more remarkable story in Israel that no one writes or talks about but the world should know more about and would like to know more about. Just an idea. I'm so sorry an American ruined your ceremony. SAD!