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Disney erases superhero’s Jewish identity from major film

Marvel Studios rewrites Jewish character, due to fear of backlash from anti-Israel activists.

By World Israel News Staff

An Israeli superhero with a Hebrew name and visibly Jewish symbols, who was meant to feature prominently in the upcoming Captain America movie, has been rewritten as a Russian following backlash from anti-Israel activists.

A trailer for the movie released last Friday by Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney, contained zero references to the character Sabra’s origins in Israel nor her backstory as a Mossad agent.

On the official Marvel website, information about Sabra has been changed to state that she is a high-ranking U.S. government official who was born in Russia, rather than a member of Israel’s storied spy agency.

“It’s clear Marvel was so scared of public backlash because of Sabra’s racist and vile Mossad/Israeli police origins, that they [revised] her [character] and turned her into a Black Widow, according to the trailer announcement,” wrote anti-Israel journalist Tariq Ra’ouf on X.

“While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics, they are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience, and the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character Sabra who was first introduced in the comics over 40 years ago,” read a media statement from Marvel regarding the dramatic changes to Sabra’s identity.

When Marvel first announced that the Israeli character would be part of the film in 2022, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel said “the original comic’s ugly racism and valorization of Mossad are sickening.”

A pro-Israel activist on social media activist X named Persian Jewess slammed the decision to cave to BDS pressure, writing “shame on Marvel Studios.”

The character of Sabra is portrayed by Israeli actress Shira Haas, who has earned international acclaim following her breakthrough role in hit Netflix series Unorthodox.