Helen Mirren visits Jerusalem for new film ‘Golda,’ says she is inspired by anti-government protests

By JULIA FRANKEL
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Helen Mirren, who plays Israel’s first female prime minister in her latest film, says she has been inspired by the widespread protests against the country’s current premier. Mirren plays the late Golda Meir during the 1973 war between Israel and a coalition of Arab states in “Golda.” She is visiting an Israel similarly beset by crisis at a time of mass demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system. Mirren told an audience at the opening of the Jerusalem Film Festival that she supports the protests. He says that she’s “personally very moved and excited when you see these huge demonstrations” and that she believes it’s “a pivotal moment in Israeli history.”