Palestinians Urge Oscar Nominees to Reject Israel Junket
The regime’s tourism ministry said it was behind the vouchers, which are good for a "10-day VIP trip to (the Occupied Palestine) for two.”
Tourism minister Yariv Levin made clear that the goal of the stunt is to improve the regime’s image by capitalizing on the fame of Hollywood stars.
The Zionist regime hopes that stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Kate Winslet will be "touring in Tel Aviv or walking through the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem” a part of the occupied West Bank.
"If they do indeed accept the invitation, their visit will have enormous resonance among millions of fans and followers,” Levin said.
Palestinian rights campaigners have reacted sharply, the Electronic Intifada (EI) reported.
"There are no Hunger Games in Gaza but there is real hunger, and it is induced by years of Israeli occupation and siege,” said Omar Barghouti, of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), referring to the film series starring Jennifer Lawrence, one of the actors named in the Zionist regime’s publicity effort.
"We hope Oscar nominees will take the moral path of rejecting this free propaganda gift from Capitol while its brutal troops and settlers burn and colonize our District 12,” Barghouti added, making an analogy between Israel’s violence against Palestinians and the Hunger Games plot.
The BNC, the largest coalition of Palestinian civil society organizations, leads the international boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement.
The Academy Awards’ decision to let Tel Aviv use the Oscars for its own propaganda comes amid controversy over the lack of racial diversity among nominees, a debate that lit up on social media with the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.
The BNC notes that Israel "has over 50 racist laws that directly discriminate against its indigenous Palestinian citizens on the basis of race, meeting the UN definition of the crime of apartheid.”
"The Academy’s association with Israel further tarnishes its image regarding racism and evokes memories of Hollywood’s past collaboration with criminal regimes,” Barghouti added.
