Academy Award-winning actor Natalie Portman may not be the first influential Jew to boycott Israel to protest the government’s policies toward the Palestinians, but she is, undoubtedly, the best known and most glamorous.
Portman, born in Jerusalem, announced on April 20 that she would not be attending the June ceremony at which she was to receive the 2018 Genesis Prize, also known as the “Jewish Nobel Prize.” She explained that she did not want to be seen as supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was slated to address the ceremony. This made Portman the target of unrestrained attacks by right-wing politicians, some of whom even denounced her as a collaborator with the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement targeting Israel because of the occupation.
