Tunisia has pulled from all movie theaters across the country the new film “Death on the Nile” starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot.
Movie theaters in Tunisia began screening the murder mystery earlier in February but after protests that accused the country of “normalization” with Israel, the country’s ministry and visual arts authority decided to ban the movie, activists and Tunisian media said on Wednesday. Cinemas in Tunisia confirmed to AFP that they will no longer screen “Death on the Nile.”
The film by British director Kenneth Branagh, which is an adaptation of the popular Agatha Christie novel of the same name, is already banned in Kuwait and Lebanon for the same reason.
Gadot, who completed two years of mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces, received backlash last summer for expressing support for Israel during its conflict with Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. In 2014, she was criticized for saying she hoped Israeli soldiers stayed safe while fighting Hamas.
“The main actress in the film is Israeli, was trained in the (Israeli) army and supports the colonization of Palestinian territory,” said Kaouther Saida Chebbi, head of an anti-Zionist woman’s movement.
Tunisia hosted the Palestinian Liberation Organization from 1982-1994 and is a longtime supporter of the Palestinian cause, AFP noted. The country also banned Gadot’s film “Wonder Woman” in 2017.
