Lebanese campaign to boycott movie starring former Miss Israel

The Lebanese Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel sent a letter yesterday to the Ministry of the Economy’s Boycott Israel Office pointing out that the Hollywood movie “Wonder Woman” stars a former Miss Israel, Gal Gadot, who once served in the Israeli occupation army. Directed by Patty Jenkins, the film is due to be screened in Lebanese cinemas from Thursday and throughout the summer.

“Wonder Woman” has already been mentioned in a very political context on a number of Israeli websites. The news site Al-Mugharad claimed that it is an important film due to the nationality of its leading actress, Gadot, and pointed out that the actress is very popular around the world.

One article had the provocative headline “Movie starring Israeli actress invades cinemas in Beirut”. The article refers to “the sensitive nature of the issue, especially as many Arabs do not know that the heroine of the movie is an Israeli.”

Read: The failure of Brand Israel

Gadot has appeared in a number of movies, most notably “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”, in which she also played “Wonder Woman”, and has been seen at international film festivals. Several photographs of the actress with the late Israeli President Shimon Peres — the father of Israel’s nuclear bomb — and many government officials are circulating on social media. The images spread rapidly after the screening of the movie in Lebanon was announced.

The Lebanese Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel is asking the government in Beirut to give this “serious issue the attention it deserves.” The campaign also highlighted the fact that Gadot had supported the Israeli army very publicly during its barbaric military offensive on the Gaza Strip in 2014.