American film director Steven Spielberg was blacklisted by the Arab
League´s Central Boycott office after making a $1 million donation to
Israel during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, the British daily the
Guardian reported on Friday.
The Guardian report was based on a U.S. diplomatic cable released by
WikiLeaks. The cable was sent in 2007 to Washington from the U.S.
Embassy in Damascus.
The cable reportedly detailed a confidential briefing the U.S.
received from Muhammad al-Ajami, the head of Syria´s regional office
for the boycott of Israel, in which the U.S. was informed of a
meeting of the Arab League´s Central Boycott Office during which
officials from 14 Arab states, as well as Iran, Malaysia and
Pakistan, voted to ban all films and other products related to
Spielberg or his Righteous Persons Foundation.
According to the cable, cosmetics magnate Estee Lauder was also added
to the blacklist while financial services company Merrill Lynch was
put on a "watch list."
