Natalie Portman isn’t a fan of Israel’s controversial nation-state law, which defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.
The Jerusalem-born actress slammed the law, which was criticized as it was debated and adopted over the summer, in an interview with BBC’s Arabic language channel published Sunday.
“It’s racist and there’s nothing else to say about that,” Portman said. “It’s wrong and I disagree with that.”
Israel passed the law, which was sponsored by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, in July. It drew ire from Jews in Israel and abroad for relegating Arabic to non-official language status, expressing support for increased Jewish settlement and promoting the status of Jewish religion in legal matters. Others have defended it as codification of longstanding agreed-upon facts about Israel’s identity.
This isn’t Portman’s first time speaking out about her views on Israel. Earlier this year, Portman said she would not travel to Israel to receive the Genesis Prize, an award which calls itself the “Jewish Nobel.”
“I chose …