Calls rise for ‘Death on the Nile’ boycott

AMMAN — The film “Death on the Nile” has received backlash from many Jordanians, who are calling for a boycott of the film since it stars Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress.

Jordanian social media users and activists demanded that the Audio-Visual Media Authority, which is responsible for licensing films in cinemas, immediately stop showing the film with the Israeli actress, who served in the Israeli military for two years.

The hashtag #StopTheZionistMovie (in Arabic) has been trending on Twitter for several days.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement in Jordan tweeted in Arabic: “We demand banning the Death on the Nile movie from showing in Jordanian cinemas, starring a former soldier in the Israeli occupation forces. We are appalled as to why the film was allowed to be shown even though a previous film by the same actress had already been banned.”

Twitter user Abla Abdelhadi, expressed her disapproval of the film, saying: “Jordanians refuse to see a former Israeli soldier on our cinema screens. Say no to Death on the Nile in Jordan,” she tweeted in English.

Twitter user Mohannad Abu Saleh, tweeted in Arabic, “Jordanian people will not accept a Zionist soldier to be on the screens of our theatres,” tagging the local cinemas and calling on them to stop showing the film.

Samer, a Jordanian activist, told The Jordan Times that “the reason behind our rejection of the film is to raise awareness of the danger of allowing such things and being okay with it, as well as to condemn the party which authorised showing the film in our cinemas”.

Samer called on Jordanians to boycott the film and expressed his hope that it would be withdrawn from cinemas as soon as possible, as it was banned from cinemas in Lebanon and Kuwait.

However, General Director of the Media Commission Tariq Abu Al Ragheb was quoted in local news media outlets saying: “The nationality of the Israeli actress is not a justification for banning the screening of the film.”

Abu Al Ragheb noted that the commission gives approvals for any content which “does not affect religious or general Arab issues, including the Palestinian cause.”

The movie is based on Agatha Christie’s book Death on the Nile.