Ramallah theater said to ban ‘Wonder Woman’
‘Boycotting the film shows only weakness and fear,’ says Israeli general responsible for Palestinian civil affairs
Dov Lieber is The Times of Israel's Arab affairs correspondent.
A prominent Palestinian movie theater has reportedly chosen to boycott the film “Wonder Woman” because Israeli actress Gal Gadot plays the title role.
The local Ramallah newspaper al-Hadath reported on Sunday that Palestine Towers Cinema, located in the city’s tallest building, made a decision to not screen the highly successful film due to “political reasons related to the Israeli occupation and the Israeli actress starring in the film.”
The report added that the ban was called against the backdrop of recent decisions by both Lebanon and Tunisia to ban the film due to Gadot’s role.
Jordan has also reportedly mulled banning the film from its theaters, though no final decision has been made by the Hashemite Kingdom.
No one from the theater was immediately available for comment, but its website did not list “Wonder Woman,” which is projected to reach over $400 million in earnings, among its current offerings.
Gadot, 32, does not shy away from touting her Israeli heritage. She praised the Israeli military in a widely shared Facebook post during the 2014 Gaza War.
Major General Yoav (Poly) Mordechai, head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the Defense Ministry branch responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, slammed the ban.
“Apparently Palestine Towers Cinema in Ramallah fears that the audience will enjoy the excellent film ‘Wonder Woman,’ and cannot separate politics from an American film,” he wrote in a Facebook post Sunday.
“Boycotting the film shows only weakness and fear. One who is self-confident is not afraid of movies — even if it’s ‘Wonder Woman’ standing before him,” he added.
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