The new Wonder Woman film has been banned in Lebanon -
because the lead actress is Israeli.
The
country's interior ministry issued an order to ban the film from 15 theatres
around Lebanon after a protest by The Campaign to Boycott Supporters of
Israel-Lebanon.
On its
Facebook page, the group said actress Gal Gadot - who plays Amazonian princess
Diana - was a soldier in the Israeli army for two years.
The post
also pointed out that she supported Israel's military policies against the Gaza
Strip, a coastal Palestinian territory run by Hamas.
Lebanon is officially at war with its
neighbour Israel and has a law that boycotts Israeli products and bans Lebanese
citizens from travelling or having contacts with Israelis.
The two countries have been through a number of wars,
including a particularly devastating one in 2006 that battered Lebanon's
infrastructure and left hundreds dead.
Gadot, 32, who served in the army from
the age of 20, has been a vocal supporter of Israel's military policies and
critical of Hamas in several Instagram posts and interviews.
On her Facebook page, the former Miss Universe praised the
Israel Defense Forces during the 2014 Gaza-Israel conflict, sending prayers to
soldiers "who are risking their lives protecting my country against the
horrific acts conducted by Hamas".
Wonder Woman was set to premiere in
most of Beirut's major cinemas on Wednesday night, after private showings had
been held the day before.
Public release screenings were cancelled just a few hours in
advance.
Tony Chacra, managing director of the distributor Joseph
Chacra and Sons, said the move was "very frustrating".
He said: "The movie has nothing to do with Israel.
"It cost money and advertising...everything was going
normally until a few days ago when a campaign began."
Mr Chacra added: "They are not harming anyone by
banning it...except the distributor.
"They are making the movie theatres lose, the
employees, the Lebanese economy...what did they get out of this?"
Courtesy: sky.com
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