Jane Fonda accused of
Veteran star Jane Fonda has been accused by an Oscar-winning rabbi of “supporting the destruction of Israel” by boycotting an international film festival.
The Barbarella actress will not attend the Toronto International Film Festival, which features a programme honouring Tel Aviv’s 100th anniversary by spotlighting 10 Israeli films.
Fonda and Lethal Weapon actor Danny Glover have signed a letter sent to festival officials which claims Tel Aviv was built on “thousands of destroyed Palestinian villages” and that the programme “ignores the suffering of thousands of former residents and descendants”.
But Rabbi Marvin Hier is blasting them and anyone else who has signed the letter, claiming: “Whoever would sign on to a campaign like this would support the complete destruction of Israel.”
Hier, who has won two Oscars for documentaries, said: “People who support letters like this are people who do not support a two-state solution.
“By calling into question the legitimacy of Tel Aviv, they are supporting a one-state solution, which means the destruction of the State of Israel.
“If every city in the Middle East would be as culturally diverse, as open to freedom of expression as Tel Aviv is, then peace would long have come to the Middle East.”
Fonda has hit back, issuing a statement saying: “I, in no way, support the destruction of Israel.
“I am for the two-state solution. I have been to Israel many times and love the country and its people.”