Brief Take On Natalie Portman

4/23/18

It’s all water cooler talk and doesn’t amount to much but I don’t buy Portman’s distinction, in refusing to go to Israel to accept the award, between supporting Israel but not wanting to appear to be supporting Netanyahu and endorsing his recent policies. (Which recent policies?) She’s somehow split the difference and has managed both to placate both sides somewhat and disappoint both sides somewhat. 

She could have been more straightforward about it and not conflated going to Israel and accepting the award with supporting the Prime Minister. They are, after all, two different things.

For example, she could have in statement made her political opposition to him, to his recent policies (such as what?) clear and said she distinguishes decisively between accepting the honor of the award and her rejection of Netanyahu’s recent policies. (Which ones?)

My sense is that there’s something else going on behind her splitting the difference, something like her wanting to locate herself on some politically correct side for the sake of appearances, some virtue signaling or something else along some line like that, but I don’t really know. I’m simply sensing tendentiousness and disingenuousness in her odd position.