Natalie Portman says backed out of prize over Netanyahu

JERUSALEM: Hollywood actress Natalie Portman said she was backing out of a Jerusalem ceremony where she was to receive a $2 million prize to protest against the policies of Israel´s prime minister. “I chose not to attend because I did not want to appear as endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu, who was to be giving a speech at the ceremony,” Portman said in a statement posted late Friday on Instagram. She also denied accusations by Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev who on Friday said Portman subscribed to the ideology of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. “I am not part of the BDS movement and do not endorse it,” the Oscar-winning US-Israeli actress said. “Like many Israelis and Jews around the world, I can be critical of the leadership in Israel without wanting to boycott the entire nation,” she said. On Friday the Genesis Prize Foundation said that Portman had cancelled her participation in a Jerusalem ceremony slated for the end of June. One of Portman´s representatives informed the foundation that she was troubled by “recent events” in Israel and “does not feel comfortable participating in any public event in Israel,” the foundation said. The foundation did not say which events distressed Portman.