JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Arab League boycotted the films of Steven Spielberg after the director made a $1 million donation to Israel, according to a memo released by WikiLeaks.
The diplomatic cable published in Britain’s The Guardian revealed that Spielberg was blacklisted by the Arab League’s Central Boycott Office after he made the large donation during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. The Arab League voted in April 2007 to boycott Spielberg’s films and other products related to Spielberg, including his Righteous Persons Foundation.
Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen all agreed to the ban on Spielberg material, as did Malaysia, Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia. Egypt, Mauritania and Jordan, which all have peace treaties with Israel, did not attend the meeting, according to the Guardian.
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