Israeli awards ceremony cancelled as Natalie Portman opts out

The Genesis Prize Foundation has cancelled its award ceremony in Israel after Hollywood star Natalie Portman refused to attend it.

According to their site, the Genesis Prize Foundation was set to honour the Israeli-American Hollywood star but announced on Thursday that her last-minute decision to not attend had let the organisers no choice but to cancel the ceremony.

A spokesperson for Portman claimed that the “recent events in Israel have been extremely distressing to her and she does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel.”

The representative quoted Portman and said that she “cannot in good conscience move forward with the ceremony.”

Said the foundation about Natalie, "Ms. Portman is a highly accomplished actress, a committed social activist and a wonderful human being. The staff of the Foundation enjoyed getting to know her over the past six months, admires her humanity, and respects her right to publicly disagree with the policies of the government of Israel. However, we are very saddened that she has decided not to attend the Genesis Prize Ceremony in Jerusalem for political reasons. We fear that Ms. Portman’s decision will cause our philanthropic initiative to be politicized, something we have worked hard for the past five years to avoid."

The Genesis Prize, dubbed by Times Magazine as 'The Jewish Nobel,' recognizes “extraordinary individuals who serve as an inspiration to the next generation of Jews.”