Lebanon's Interior Ministry has banned the screening of the film Wonder Woman because Israeli actress Gal Gadot plays the lead role following pressure by anti-Israel campaigners.
According to the news site 'al-Jazeera', a ministry source said it had issued an order to ban the movie based on a recommendation from the General Security directorate.
Though Wonder Woman had passed the country’s normal screening procedures, the anti-Israel BDS campaign put pressure on the government to block the film, describing it as “the Israeli soldier film”.
Gadot, who is from Tel Aviv, was a combat trainer in the Israeli Defense Forces for two years and crowned Miss Israel at age 18. Campaigners had previously tried to block Lebanon’s screenings of Batman v Superman, which also features Gadot, but was unsuccessful.
"It's very frustrating," Tony Chacra, managing director of the distributor Joseph Chacra and Sons, told the news agency 'Reuters', adding that "The movie has nothing to do with Israel." Chacra said various Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Oman, would screen the movie.
"They are not harming anyone by banning it ... except the distributor," he added. "They are making the movie theaters lose, the employees, the Lebanese economy ... What did they get out of this?"
Wonder Woman is based on a comic book character introduced in 1941, fighting villains, rescuing victims and unearthing evil plots.
The movie was set to premiere in most of Beirut's major cinemas on Wednesday night, after private showings had been held the day before.
The public release screenings were canceled a few hours in advance. Lebanon's Grand Cinemas announced the ban on its Twitter feed.
