{"id":60913,"date":"2018-04-23T17:03:44","date_gmt":"2018-04-23T15:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=60913"},"modified":"2018-04-23T16:34:03","modified_gmt":"2018-04-23T14:34:03","slug":"27-05-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=60913","title":{"rendered":"POWER, POLITICS AND THE NATALIE PORTMAN RORSCHACH TEST"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>POWER, POLITICS AND THE NATALIE PORTMAN RORSCHACH TEST<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

SETH J. FRANTZMAN<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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The real story of what happened with Portman is… complex.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis Prize Laureate Natalie Portman. (photo credit: GENESIS PRIZE FOUNDATION)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Natalie Portman almost broke the Internet over the weekend. The Genesis Prize Foundation said last Thursday it was canceling its prize ceremony scheduled for June 28, after a representative of Portman was quoted as saying the actress was not comfortable participating in any public events in Israel and could not \u201cin good conscience\u201d move forward with the ceremony. Portman later wrote on Instagram that she chose \u201cnot to attend because I did not want to appear as endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu.\u201d She also distanced herself from \u201ctoday\u2019s atrocities,\u201d noting they were not \u201cin line with my Jewish values.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The vague statements have left a lot of people guessing and turned the fiasco into a Rorschach test that is virtually breaking the Internet. On the Right, she has been accused of not accepting a prize from the \u201cpeople of Israel\u201d and shamed for \u201cboycotting Israel.\u201d Others have pointed out that her decision seems hypocritical. As Israeli writer and strategy consultant Hen Mazzig wrote, \u201cShe never boycotted any American award given to her\u201d due to Donald Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Forward<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>ran an article online with the headline \u201cNatalie Portman speaks loudly for young American Jews with snub of Israel.\u201d Its editor-in-chief, Jane Eisner, wrote that the decision means \u201csomething is shifting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The real story of what happened with Portman is far more complex. When making the film Tale of Love and Darkness, based on Israeli novelist Amos Oz\u2019s book with the same name, she said the project was her \u201cpassion for almost a decade.\u201d In 2015, she spoke passionately about an entire generation in Israel that was trying to \u201ccreate utopian communities.\u201d At the same time, she was also openly critical of Netanyahu\u2019s reelection in 2015, and said, \u201cI find his racist comments horrific.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So Portman was a known quantity, a woman with strong views and an intimate interest in Israeli history and the country\u2019s elite cultural scene. She was the first young woman selected to win the Genesis Prize, which in previous years has been awarded to Anish Kapoor, Itzhak Perlman, Michael Douglas and Michael Bloomberg. There is a widespread perception that Israel has an image problem among younger American Jews and that this problem intersects with a feeling that Israel\u2019s values do not represent their liberal-leaning values.<\/span><\/p>\n

OVER THE \u00a0years, a variety of initiatives have sought to address this. How to get young American Jews interested in Israel? Hundreds of thousands have come on Birthright Israel trips. But Google \u201cyoung US Jews and Israel\u201d and you\u2019ll get headlines about \u201cestrangement\u201d and \u201chostility\u201d and \u201cturning away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A ceremony with Natalie Portman might have symbolized a positive chance to address this issue, with a young woman who could inspire connection to Israel. Now, media interpretations indicate that has spectacularly backfired. The reason that Portman\u2019s decision resonates so strongly online reflects that people in their 20s and 30s \u2013 the active social media users \u2013 feel this incident reflects something raw and genuine.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Israel supporters, it results in a backlash. They\u2019ve gone on the attack. For critics of Israel, or its government, this represents catharsis. Finally, their values are at the forefront as a major actress appears to challenge Israel\u2019s government.<\/span><\/p>\n

It should be a learning experience as well. Portman\u2019s views deserve to be listened to and aired. Was no one listening in 2015 or before? Did no one ask her what she thought? The initial statement by her representative that she wasn\u2019t attending any public events in Israel seemed to be a way out for her from the ceremony. It wasn\u2019t against the government or the ceremony or the prize, just against public events. But that was interpreted as a boycott. Once the controversy had broken, she had to clarify the statement and sought to put the ball in Netanyahu\u2019s court.<\/span><\/p>\n

The whole incident now symbolizes a larger struggle for power, politics and influence in Israel. There is an unwillingness by some critics and cheerleaders to see nuance on the other side. Which is more important for Israel: public ceremonies affirming the government, or encouraging a positive relationship with the complex realities of Israel and the lived experience of its 8.8 million people?<\/span><\/p>\n

A healthy relationship with critics in the Diaspora should encourage connections to the larger milieu of Israel. The Portman case shows that Jerusalem cannot take for granted that voices like hers will not seek pushback on Israel\u2019s policies or the demands of its leaders. That means taking seriously the views of those like Portman and respecting that they have something to say. A relationship between Israel and the Diaspora can\u2019t be predicated on clich\u00e9s and a few days of meetings every year. The Portman Rorschach test teaches us that we need to engage year-round and respect differing views. Then these kinds of surprises or scandals will be less likely.<\/span><\/p>\n

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POWER, POLITICS AND THE NATALIE PORTMAN RORSCHACH TEST SETH J. FRANTZMAN The real story of what happened with Portman is… complex. Genesis Prize Laureate Natalie Portman. (photo credit: GENESIS PRIZE FOUNDATION) Natalie Portman almost broke the Internet over the weekend. The Genesis Prize Foundation said last Thursday it was canceling its prize ceremony scheduled for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60913"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60913"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60933,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60913\/revisions\/60933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}