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Oscar Nominees Urged to Skip ’Israel’ Swag Bag Trip, See Culture through ’Eyes of Palestinians’

Oscar Nominees Urged to Skip ’Israel’ Swag Bag Trip, See Culture through ’Eyes of Palestinians’
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Oscar-nominated celebrities had been urged to skip a $55,000 trip to the "Israeli" entity offered as part of an awards gift bag.

Oscar Nominees Urged to Skip ’Israel’ Swag Bag Trip, See Culture through ’Eyes of Palestinians’

Two US-based groups campaigning for an end to "Israel's" occupation of the Palestinian Territories made the plea in a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times that appeared five days before the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday.

"#SkipTheTrip. Don't endorse "Israeli" apartheid," said the ad, sponsored by the US Campaign to End the "Israeli" Occupation and Jewish Voice for Peace.

The ad said the trip, which is partially paid for by the "Israeli" regime, was part of a larger "‘Brand "Israel"' strategy to distract from almost 50 years of illegal occupation of Palestinian land."

"As was the case many years ago in South Africa, celebrities are being asked to refrain from whitewashing apartheid policies," Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the US Campaign to End the "Israeli" Occupation, said in a statement on Wednesday.

The trip is one of the most expensive items in a swag bag handed out to the five Oscar-nominated directors and 20 lead and supporting actor and actress nominees, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Sylvester Stallone, Mark Rylance, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence, Matt Damon and Kate Winslet.

However, the gift bag is not affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Oscars.

The Academy last week filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles-based Distinctive Assets accusing the gifting group of promoting the bag as official Oscars swag.

For their part, pro-Palestinian activists sent satirical invitations to top Oscars nominees, inviting them to visit Palestine and "experience life under "Israeli" apartheid and military occupation," according to a statement from one of the activist groups, Artists for Palestine UK.

Since news of the free trip spilled out, supporters had pressured celebrities to decline the offer.

"We thought you might be interested to see what a trip through the eyes of a Palestinian could look like," activists wrote in their latest plea to Hollywood.

"Holy-land tours present 10 days in Palestine. A unique holiday experience!" the e-vites read.

"Enjoy a tear filled gas weekend in a Jerusalem [al-Quds] ghetto," it continued.

The invitations went on to highlight the conflict in the Middle East.

"Be pushed around by angry soldiers," it read.

"Watch a baby being born in the back of a taxi as checkpoint guards look on," it added.

If that wasn't enticing enough, it offered take-home mementos of the trips, which included "a handy first aid kit for settler-inflicted beatings" and "a genuine souvenir bullet."

Accordingly, the "Israeli" regime earlier this month confirmed it was funding $15,000 to $18,000 of each 10-day trip as a means of offsetting news coverage of the country's troubles.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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