Palestinian Actor Blocked from Oscars Due to Trump Travel Ban

Motaz Malhees, the actor who plays a call center operator in the Oscar-nominated docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab, will not be able to attend the Academy Awards on Sunday. Malhees revealed on Thursday that he is barred from entering the United States due to a travel ban imposed by Donald Trump on people with Palestinian Authority passports.

The Voice of Hind Rajab, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, is nominated for best international feature. The film tells the desperate true story of 5-year-old Hind Rajab, trapped in a car under fire in Gaza.

“Three days left to the Oscars,” said Malhees. “Our film, The Voice of Hind Rajab, is nominated for an Academy Award. I had the honor of playing one of the lead roles in a story the world needed to hear. But I will not be there. I am not allowed to enter the United States because of my Palestinian citizenship.”

“It hurts,” he continued “But here is the truth. You can block a passport. You cannot block a voice. I am Palestinian, and I stand with pride and dignity. My spirit will be with The Voice of Hind Rajab that night. Good luck to all of you. Our story is bigger than any barrier, and it will be heard.”

The travel ban, enacted by Trump in December, includes passports from Palestinian alongside Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria and more.

Watch the trailer for The Voice of Hind Rajab here :