Lebanon Bans Justice League Over Gal Gadot
The country of Lebanon banned DC Films’ Justice League because of Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot.
The main reason is because of Gadot’s past service in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
This isn’t the first time Lebanon has banned a DC Comics movie. You might remember that when Wonder Woman was released back in June they decided to ban the film because of Gal Gadot’s time in the IDF.
Gadot served two years in the IDF which is mandatory for all Israeli citizens. In her two years of service, Israeli and Lebanon saw conflict in 2006, one of only many the two sides have had for over half a century.
The people behind the ban are called BDS or Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. Activists from the organization say having an Israeli lead amounts, in their view, to the normalization of an enemy state. As Justice League was set to release in Lebanon this week, activists from BDS once again set out to ensure the film would be banned.
They claim that according to current Lebanese law, the film is illegal because Lebanese laws outlaw normalization of ties with Israel. One activist Pierre Abi Saab also went as far as to accuse promoters of ignoring that law. “We thought the debate had been settled five months ago but we are now back to square one.”
One publication in Lebanon even accused a local actor by the name of Ziad Itani of being seduced by Gadot to collaborate with Israel. Itani was arrested last week for “collaborating” with Israel. The conspiracy theory states Gadot is a Mossad spy. The publication was forced to retract and apologize for implying Gadot is an Israeli agent.
The controversy surrounding this isn’t new to that region of the world but is disappointing.
With Justice League officially banned from Lebanon, it really doesn’t seem that it will have much of an effect on the global market. Lebanon is a very tiny market compared to other major international markets. However, it is symbolic and represents the unwillingness of certain groups accepting actors based off of their nationality.
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