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Israel boycotts Paris film festival over anti-IDF movie

Ambassador Aliza Bin-Noun will not attend an Israeli film festival in Paris that features a movie defaming the IDF.

By: World Israel News and AP

Israel’s envoy to France will not attend the opening ceremony of an Israeli film festival in Paris, scheduled for next month, over the organizers’ decision to screen a contentious film that defames the IDF.

Shmuel Maoz’s “Foxtrot” is a drama exploring service in the IDF and the modern Israeli psyche. An ending scene shows IDF soldiers killing and burying an Arab family.

The film has come under fire from Israeli Minister of Culture Miri Regev, who said it “slanders” the military and the Jewish state.

“It is inconceivable that movies which shame the reputation of the Israel Defense Forces… are selected to showcase Israel cinema abroad,” she has previously stated.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that the Israeli ambassador to France, Aliza Bin-Noun, will not attend the festival’s opening night when the film is being screened.

Bin-Noun had urged festival organizers to choose a film that “is not controversial and suits a festive opening night” and which would not offend the audience, the ministry said. Her request was declined.

Regev has petitioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as Israel’s foreign minister, to have his ministry withdraw financial support for the festival.