Portman apologizes for kissing scene at Western Wall

Actress Natalie Portman has said that filming a kissing scene beside Jerusalem's Western Wall for her upcoming movie "Free Zone" had been a mistake. "I really don't want to offend anyone's beliefs or impose anything on anyone and it was a mistak to do it," Portman told "Access Hollywood" in an interview broadcast on Monday. The 23-year-old Israeli-born actress and her crew were confronted by ultra-Orthodox Jewish worshippers last week while filming the scene with Israeli actor Aki Avni. The incident underlined the sensitivity of the site which is a remnant of the biblical Jewish temples, the holiest place where Jews can pray. The site is controlled by strictly observant Jews. Male and female worshippers are separated by a barrier perpendicular to the wall, following Orthodox Jewish rules forbidding casual contact between the sexes. "As soon as it offended people, we moved," Portman said. "We had a very hectic work schedule, so we weren't thinking. We shouldn't have done it."