Portman Faces Protests Over Filming In Israel

Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman is facing protests from ultra-Orthodox residences of a Jerusalem town where she is planning to shoot her new movie.

Portman is filming her directorial debut A Tale of Love and Darkness in Israel and the The Times of Israel reports that protesters are angry that they have not been informed about the filming and have written to the authorities.

“The film shooting is set to take place on several sensitive streets close to synagogues and yeshivas, and the scenes being filmed should have been examined first to make sure they don’t offend anybody’s sensitivities”, their letter stated.

The residents have been reassured that the film’s cast will be modestly dressed but there have been reports of graffiti saying “foreign invasion” being written on nearby buildings.

Portman was born in Israel and moved to the US when she was a child. She will also star in the film and speak Hebrew. She is said to have received thousands of dollars from the Jerusalem Development Authority to make the film, based on the autobiographical book by Israeli author Amos Oz.