Reports suggest that Lebanon wants to ban 'Wonder Woman' from the country because its lead star, Gal Gadot, is Israeli, in accordance with a decades-old law boycotting Israeli products.
Lebanon is seeking to ban the upcoming Warner Bros. superhero movie Wonder Woman from the country on the grounds that its lead actress, Gal Gadot, is Israeli.
The state of Lebanon is at war with Israel, and has a law that boycotts all Israeli products and prevents its citizens from having any kind of contact with Israelis and from travelling there.
Arab News reports that a local source says the ministry of economy in Lebanon is seeking to “take the necessary measures” to prevent the DC Universe film from being screened there.
Lebanon wants to ban 'Wonder Woman' because Gal Gadot (pictured) is Israeli
However, the ban has not yet been enforced at the time of writing, and digital billboards and posters for the film have been spotted in the capital city of Beirut. Furthermore, a representative of a Lebanese cinema chain has stated that the Wonder Woman premiere is going ahead as originally planned on Wednesday (May 31st).
A security official speaking on the condition of anonymity said that the ban would require a recommendation from a six-person committee of the ministry of economy, but that the process for this had not begun yet.
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Lebanon has been officially at war with Israel for decades, going through a number of bloody conflicts including the most recent one in 2006, which left hundreds of Lebanese citizens dead and damaged key infrastructure in the state.
The ban regarding Israeli cultural products did not, however, affect previous films including Gadot, such as Batman vs Superman and The Fast And The Furious, despite protests from campaigners.
A group called Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel-Lebanon has spearheaded the effort to get Wonder Woman banned, saying that Gadot, who has served as an enlisted soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces as a combat trainer, expressed support for Israel as it conducted a campaign against Hezbollah three years ago.
Warner Bros. has so far not commented on the reports.
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