‘Captain America’ premiere starring Israeli Shira Haas draws protest

Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside the Tuesday night Hollywood premiere of “Captain America: Brave New World,” calling for a boycott of the film, which features Israeli superhero Ruth Bat-Seraph, or Sabra, played by Shira Haas.

In a Hollywood Reporter video posted on social media, protesters could be seen chanting, “Free, free, free Palestine” and “Sabra, Sabra, what do you say, how many kids did you kill today?”

They also held signs that read “Sabra has got to go,” “Disney supports genocide,” “Boycott ‘Captain America’” and “Pray 4 Princess Jasmine.”

In the original Sabra appearance in an issue of “The Incredible Hulk” published by Marvel Comics in the early 1980s, Sabra was Jewish, a mutant, and the first superhuman created to serve the Mossad.

In the film version of the comic, Haas plays Sabra, an Israeli character who is not a mutant or associated with the Mossad but works for the US government.

“While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics,” Marvel said in a statement to Variety, “they are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience, and the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character Sabra who was first introduced in the comics over 40 years ago.”