A friend sent me a Breitbart.com article headlined “Like All Boycotters of Israel, Natalie Portman Is a Hypocrite” and asked whether I thought it was hyperbole or something more.

It’s mostly hyperbole, but the Oscar-winning actress opened herself up to it with her poorly executed announcement.

Portman was oddly cryptic about what, exactly, she was protesting, which let others fill in the blanks according to their own agendas.

Portman was oddly cryptic about what, exactly, she was protesting, which let others fill in the blanks according to their own agendas.

By the time she got around to clarifying her position (somewhat), she’d lost control of the debate.

Her beef, it seems, is not with Israel per se but with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his policies. In that way, it’s not much different from LaBron James and others skipping the Trump White House.

But, to the extent I’ve followed the story – not closely, because it’s much ado about nothing – it still seems unclear exactly which policies set her off.

• The international anti-Israel crowd leaped to say it was the Gaza border riots, but everybody knows that is a kabuki play staged by Hamas to produce casualties in hopes of gaining sympathy in the West.
• It might have to do with the 37,000 African migrants from Eritrea and Sudan, and whether they should be granted refuge or deported.
• It could be all the times Netanyahu has caved in to the ultra-religious parties that prop up his narrow coalition, and the response by some in the Israeli opposition to argue that he’s creating a schism between Israeli Jews and the diaspora, particularly those in the United States.

Another problem is the issue of there being a time and place for everything. Portman apparently made a poor choice. Going back to the LaBron/White House analogy, the event she chose to skip wasn’t a meeting with Netanyahu, but more akin to a Kennedy Center Honor or a MacArthur “Genius” Award.

To me, this is a story about bad public relations. If Portman did this on her own, she should have consulted the professionals. It’s hard to believe a celebrity of her magnitude wouldn’t have a publicist. If her publicist signed off on it, she should get a new one.

###

Stu Robinson practices writing, editing, media relations and social media through his business, Phoenix-based Lightbulb Communications. 

Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, LaBron James, Natalie Portman, PR, public relations, Trump, White House