Natalie Portman is not a hater, just immoral and a hypocrite - By Lior Ben-Ami

Natalie Portman is not a hater, just immoral and a hypocrite

By Lior Ben-Ami
MidEastTruth.com
April 22, 2018

Natalie Portman posted a "clarification" to her decision not to come to Israel to receive the Genesis Prize, after a statement that due to "recent events," "she does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel."

Yes, you read it right. Portman, who received a prize in China, a country with a horrendous human rights record - including executions of government opponents and organ harvesting from political prisoners - did not feel "comfortable participating in any public events in Israel," a country whose citizenship she possesses and which she claims to love.

Portman's "clarification" gave us a glimpse into how ignorant, hypocritical and morally distorted she is. Portman claims that she's not part of the BDS movement and then uses some of their rhetoric.

Portman writes that her decision not to come to Israel is because she "did not want to appear as endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu" who was slated to give a speech at the event. Unfortunately, Portman finds herself unable to respect the decision of the majority of Israel's citizens, who democratically elected Netanyahu to be Israel's Prime Minister for the past three elections. During Israel's Independence Day, acclaimed Israeli author David Grossman received the Israel Prize in an official ceremony with the participation of PM Netanyahu, President Rivlin, as well as Education Minister and member of the religious right-wing party "The Jewish Home," Naftali Bennett. It is well known that Grossman is a bitter opponent and a harsh, vocal critic of the people from whom he received the prize, and has vehement disagreements with them on many political subjects. This didn't stop him from accepting the prize. Why couldn't Portman demonstrate the same moral clarity as Grossman?

If it was only her disrespect for the democracy in Israel at play, this decision could have been passed as simply intolerance and double standards. But then things got much worse.

Portman, in a display of unmitigated ignorance, wrote that Israel was "created" as a "haven for refugees from the Holocaust." This is the exact rhetoric used by BDS supporters and antisemites worldwide. They claim that Israel was "given" to the Jews, at the expense of the Arabs, as compensation for the Holocaust. The truth, of course, is completely different. The connection of the Jewish people to Israel has continued for thousands of years. The city of Tel Aviv was founded in 1909. Rishon LeZion was founded in 1882. There was a vibrant Jewish life in Israel decades before the Holocaust. There was a vibrant Jewish life in Israel decades before the Holocaust. The Balfour Declaration was signed in 1917 and adopted by the League of Nations in 1922. Israel was reborn not because of the Holocaust and not "as a haven for refugees from the Holocaust." Israel was reborn because it was always the national home of the Jewish people. Six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust could have been saved if the modern state of Israel had existed earlier.

Then Portman wrote about "the mistreatment of those suffering from today's atrocities." One can assume she is referring to the issue of asylum seekers and the government's policies regarding this population. If one could give her the benefit of the doubt about her ignorance regarding events that happened decades ago, now Portman displays her ignorance and double standards regarding current events. Israel's treatment of migrants from the third world, most of whom came as job seekers, is in line with that of modern western democracies facing similar challenges. European countries, from Italy to the Netherlands, send asylum seekers away. Switzerland, for example, sends many migrants back to Eritrea and the European court has decided that it is safe there. Sweden sent a 106 year old (!) asylum seeker back to Afghanistan, a place much less safe than Rwanda, Uganda or Eritrea. Israel is more careful than the European courts when it comes to Eritrea. Israel looked for safer countries like Rwanda and Uganda - countries the UN declared as safe and progressive. The Israeli Supreme Court sent experts to Africa, to observe the situation first hand. Israel reviews asylum requests and individuals who were recognized as refugees by the authorities, have received Israeli residency. Israel is doing everything possible to make the right decisions, legally and morally, regarding this population.

But it's not just China and European countries. Portman was part of the Women for Obama group. This is the same former President Obama who deported more people than any other US President, and ordered drone attacks which killed hundreds of innocent civilians, even in remote corners of the globe, not in a situation of direct and imminent threat to US borders. But Portman does not seem to care about all that. Her criticism and discomfort is reserved only for the world's sole Jewish state.

With friends like these . . .