Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Natalie Portman snubs ‘Jewish Nobel’
Actress Natalie Portman, above, has snubbed a prestigious prize known as the “Jewish Nobel” because of “extreme distress” over recent events in Israel, triggering an angry backlash Friday from some in the country’s political establishment.
Portman was to have received the award in Israel in June, but told the Genesis Prize Foundation through a representative that she would “not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel.”
The country faces some international criticism over its use of lethal force in response to mass protests along the Gaza border led by the Islamic militant group that rules the territory.
One Israeli lawmaker warned that Portman’s decision is a sign of eroding support for Israel among young American Jews. The Jerusalem-born Portman is a dual Israeli-American citizen.
The Genesis Prize Foundation said Thursday that it had been informed by Portman’s representative that “recent events in Israel have been extremely distressing” to Portman.
Since March 30, more than three dozen Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire, most of them in protests on the Gaza-Israeli border. Hundreds more have been wounded by Israeli troops.
Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas, a militant group sworn to Israel’s destruction, of trying to carry out attacks. It has said that some of those protesting tried to damage the border fence, plant explosives and hurl firebombs, or flew kites attached to burning rags to set Israeli fields on fire.