The actor Natalie Portman has slammed Israel's Jewish Nation State law as racist and said she hopes “to be part of” changing it.
In an appearance with the BBC's Arabic service to promote her new film Vox Lux, Portman was asked about the law passed by the Knesset in July that recognises Israel as the historic homeland of the Jewish people.
Opposition politicians attacked the law at the time for emphasising only the Jewish character of Israel without mention of democracy or equality, and for relegating the status of Arabic from official to “special status”.
Portman, was born in Jerusalem and has joint US-Israeli citizenship, was asked by the interviewer Husam Sam Asi: “Recently we had the Israeli Jewish state law that made you more superior than me because you're Jewish and I'm not. How do you feel about that?”
Portman responded: “It’s racist and there’s nothing else to say about that, and it’s wrong and I disagree with that [law].”
#NataliePortman speaks out against Israel Jewish-nation law and hopes to be part of changing it pic.twitter.com/Pfqg1EX9tq
— Husam Sam Asi (@husamasi) December 10, 2018
“It's hard to be from a place where...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.
“I just hope to be part of changing that and making us truly love our neighbours, and work for our neighbours and work with our neighbours.
“It's hard to be from a place where it’s like your family ― you love them the most and you also feel the most critical.”
