Jerusalem-born Hollywood star Natalie Portman has criticized Israel’s Jewish Nation State law lebelling it as “racist” and “a mistake” where she explained that “the state of the Jewish people” does not specify equal rights for all Israeli citizens.
In an interview with London-based Arabic newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi, the 37-year-old actress said, she hopes to help change Israel’s ‘racist’ Nation State law and wanted people to work together to make a difference in the current situation.
“It’s racist and there’s nothing else to say about that, It’s wrong and I disagree with that [law]”, said Portman in an interview posted online on Wednesday, “[people’s] lives are [being] affected on a personal level by decisions made by politicians.”
According to legal scholars and Arab rights activists, the nation state law, brought into legislation in July and named ‘Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People’, effectively gives state sanction to the creation of residential areas for Jews only that would be off limits to Arabs.
Borm as Jewish, it is not the first time that Portman has spoken out against the Israeli government and what she sees as its anti-Palestine agenda
Earlier in April the actress refused to attend a prize ceremony in Jerusalem because she did not want to be seen endorsing Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
“It’s the people you love and their lives are personally affected by all the decisions politicians make, and that their neighbours make for them”, said Portman, “I just hope to be part of changing that and making us truly love our neighbors, and work for our neighbors and work with our neighbors.”
The Jewish actress, now doing press for her latest film “Vox Lux,” has been supportive of Israel in the past.
> Shatabdi Sarker Poushi
‘Racist’ & ‘Mistake’: Natalie Portman Criticized The Israeli Government
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