Israeli actress Gal Gadot is staying away from the Venice Film Festival in the wake of a political row over whether she should attend.
The actress is the star of one of the films which will be premiering in Venice this year, called In The Hand of Dante.
But Gadot and her co-star in the film, Gerard Butler, are coming under pressure over their perceived support of the state of Israel during its military campaign in Gaza.
The fear is that Gadot, 40, could act as a ‘lightning rod’ for protests amid planned demonstrations against Israel, which look certain to disrupt the red carpet on Saturday.
There is already heavy security this year, with a ring of steel erected around the collection of cinemas at the centre of the festival and a very visible police presence. Body scanners, bag checks and security passes are all being used to monitor delegates and ticket holders.
Pressure group Artists4Palestine has demanded that Festival organisers the Venice Biennale withdraw invitations from both Gadot and Butler ‘along with any artist and celebrity who publicly and actively supports genocide’.
Venice Film Festival boss Alberto Barbero confirmed this week that the actress is not coming to Venice.
