Lebanon lifts ban on Spielberg’s new movie; Hezbollah enraged

Hezbollah is upset that Lebanon has decided not to ban Steven Spielberg’s new movie. 

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

After initially banning Steven Spielberg’s new movie because of his links to Israel, Lebanon has approved the screening of the film.

The Post premiered in Beirut last week after Lebanon’s interior minister ruled against the ban. The Lebanese censorship board had nixed the film, citing a “boycott Israel” list that included Spielberg due to his 1993 Oscar-winning Holocaust film, “Schindler’s List,” which included scenes shot in Jerusalem.

Lebanon is officially at war with Israel. According to Lebanese law, Israeli products must be boycotted and Lebanese citizens are prohibited from traveling to Israel or having contact with Israelis.

The Post is being shown in other Arab countries, where there have been no calls for a boycott.

Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah on Friday slammed the decision to show the film, saying it was a mistake.

Stressing the importance of “avoiding all forms of normalizing ties with the Zionist entity,” the leader of the terror organization called for a ban on all movies produced by Spielberg because he donated $1 million to Israel in 2006 after the Second Lebanon War.

“The Post is about Vietnam, yet the money paid to watch the movie may be used by Spielberg to fund any Zionist war against Lebanon,” Nasrallah stated.

The film, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, tells the story of the Washington Post‘s efforts to publish the “Pentagon Papers,” classified documents that revealed the failures of the US war in Vietnam.

“We aren’t against art, cinema or TV, but don’t simplify things. There is a Lebanese decision to boycott Israel, so commit to your decisions,” Nasrallah said.