'Post' trauma

Hezbollah chief weighs in on Lebanon’s Spielberg controversy

Nasrallah says nation should not have screened ‘The Post,’ due to director donating money to Jewish state after 2006 war

By AP 19 January 2018, 8:32 pm

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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gestures during a rally to mark Jerusalem Day or Al-Quds Day, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, August 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

BEIRUT — The leader of Hezbollah is weighing in on a local controversy surrounding Steven Spielberg’s newspaper drama “The Post,” saying it was wrong to screen it in Lebanese theaters.

Censorship authorities had recommended the ban because the director is blacklisted by the Arab League over his support for Israel, but a Lebanese minister reversed the decision, allowing it to open Thursday in theaters across the country.

US film director Steven Spielberg poses on the red carpet on arrival for the European Premiere of his film, ‘The Post’ in London on January 10, 2018. (AFP Photo/Daniel Leal-Olivas)

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday said Spielberg’s name is on a “black list” of Israeli supporters and noted he was blacklisted by the League for donating $1 million to Israel for reconstruction during its 2006 war with Lebanon.

Nasrallah said showing the movie in Lebanon was tantamount to “rewarding” Spielberg under the pretext of art, freedoms and tourism.