Actress Orna Pitussi has been fired from hit police drama Manayek after refusing to undergo COVID tests before filming. Pitussi had previously declared that she has no plans to be vaccinated against the disease.

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In April, Pittusi – a vocal opponent of the coronavirus vaccine – sparked controversy when she compared Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla to Adolf Hitler in a Facebook post. She later apologizing for her remarks.

The critically acclaimed Manayek ("Maniac") is currently filming its second season. The production confirmed Pittusi's dismissal from the show, saying "We work according to Health Ministry procedures and are committed to the health and safety of everyone involved in the show."

Used in Hebrew slang as a derogatory term for a policeman, Manayek stars Shalom Assayag, Amos Tamam, and Maya Dagan. It tells the story of veteran Police Internal Affairs investigator Izzy Bachar (Assayag), who is on the brink of retirement when he finds himself investigating his best friend (Tamam) – a high-ranking police officer accused of operating a vast criminal network within the force.

Until her recent dismissal from the show, Pittusi played Eti Bachar, Izzy's wife, who happens to be a senior police officer as well. It is unclear at this time how the writers plan to explain her exit from the show.

Created and written by Roy Iddan and directed by Alon Zingman, Manayek is one of Kan's highest-rated dramas alongside Tehran. It was a favorite of the Israeli Academy for Film and Television in 2020, winning the awards for Best Drama Series, Best Director in a Drama Series, Best Screenplay for a Drama Series, Leading Actor in a Drama Series, and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

In April, Cineflix Rights, the UK's largest independent TV content distributor, announced it acquired exclusive worldwide distribution rights for Manayek.

The show, from Yoav Gross Productions for Kan, is Cineflix Rights' second Israeli drama alongside the mega-hit Tehran, which has had huge global success following a deal with Apple TV+.

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Acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino arrived in Israel with his wife Daniella Pick and son Leo shortly before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, on what was supposed to be a short visit. But this turned into more than a year.

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Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Tarantino said that the Jewish state was "the country that handled COVID best," and this allowed him to fly back to the United States in recent days to promote his new novel "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" based on his 2019 film of the same name.

In his interview, he spoke about his de facto relocation that had been imposed on him due to the global contagion. "The idea was that we would spend 3-4 months in Tel Aviv and 3-4 months in Los Angeles, and then COVID hit. I would rather not have been out of my own country against my will for a year. However, if I'm going to be in another country, the country that handled COVID the best is probably the best country to be in," he said.

When asked whether his son Leo, who was named after Pick's grandfather, was speaking already, Tarantino said: "He is talking, they are not necessarily words. He can only say one word, and that is "aba," which is the Hebrew word for "Dada." And a third of the time, he means me."

Is Tarantino himself learning Hebrew? "I've learned a lot of words," he said. "I haven't learned enough to actually carry on a conversation or string anything but a perfunctory sentence together. But, I'm actually learning a lot with Leo, because he watches these baby TV kind of things, and it's all in Hebrew... So I am learning the Sesame Street version of Hebrew."

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Joss Whedon, director of "Justice League," might not be "Wonder Woman" star Gal Gadot's biggest fan.

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In an interview to entertainment publication The Hollywood Reporter, actor Ray Fisher, who plays Cyborg, said that Whedon and Gadot had clashed during "Justice League" reshoots.

The article quoted an unnamed witness to the events on set who said that Whedon told Gadot "he's the writer and she's going to shut up and say the lines and he can make her look incredibly stupid in this movie."

The argument on set reportedly erupted after Gadot felt that Whedon was asking her to play Wonder Woman as a more aggressive character than in the original movie, and the two continued to argue about specific lines for the character.

The conflict was resolved only after Gadot and Patty Jenkins, who directed "Wonder Woman" and its sequel, "Wonder Woman 1984," met with Warner Brothers officials.

When Gadot was asked about the dispute, she restricted her response to a statement in which she said, "I had my issues with [Whedon] and Warner Bros. handled it in a timely manner."

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The IDF has decided that modeling will no longer fall under the "active artist" category, which allows artists serving in the army with benefits, including a shorter basic training and permission to travel abroad for work, the military announced this week.

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The decision stemmed from the "difficulty of estimating and classifying the occupation according to IDF criteria," the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in a statement, noting that the decision would only be applied to new recruits, not models already enlisted.

The announcement drew criticism from several representatives of the modeling industry.

"My work as a model brings pride to the State of Israel, and now I read that they cannot recognize me as an 'active artist?'" model Dorit Revelis asked. "But anyone with a lot of followers will be recognized as such? Where is the logic?"

The "active artist" recognition has a long and complicated history in the IDF. The most memorable case is that of model Bar Refaeli, who infamously evaded mandatory service in 2017 by getting married a few days before her enlistment date.

Several Israeli models combined their careers and military service successfully thanks to being recognized as "active artists." These include Yael Shelbia and Barak Shamir, who not only continued their modeling work but also launched acting careers while serving.

However, the IDF has established a new "social media influencer" category through which new recruits will be able to apply for "active artist" eligibility.

The IDF defines a "social media influencer" as a young person whose number of social media followers exceeds 500,000 individuals and who participates in productions and projects outside of social media.

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Jokes have been circling the Internet about possible side effects from the vaccination, including the side effect of growing a tail. The Prime Minister referred to the memes and jokingly assured that he did not have one grow in the wake of his live-broadcast injection.

@bnetanyahuעדכון: ראיתי את הצחוקים ברשת ואני רוצה להרגיע אתכם אין לי זנב #ישראל #קורונהטיים♬ original sound - Benjamin Netanyahu - נתניהו

The launch of Netanyahu's TikTok account comes at a critical time for the government he heads, as the Knesset may dissolve apart any day, ushering in the fourth parliamentary election in just under two years.

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Cleopatra, a skilled multi-lingual ruler who was involved with both Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony, has become the stuff of legend and portrayed by stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Monica Bellucci, and Angelina Jolie.

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The Paramount version of the Cleopatra story will be another collaboration between Gadot and Patty Jenkins, who directed Wonder Woman and its sequel, whose release has been repeatedly delayed by the COVID pandemic.

In addition to playing the lead role, Gadot is co-producing the Cleopatra film with her husband.

After the project was announced, Gadot wrote on Instagram: "I love embarking on new journeys, I love the excitement of new projects, the thrill of bringing new stories to life. Cleopatra is a story I wanted to tell for a very long time. Can't be more excited and grateful about this A team!!!"

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Lehava ("Flame") opposes interfaith and inter-ethnic interaction, relationships and marriages. Its activists often riot outside mixed Jewish-Muslim weddings, as well as along the routes of gay pride parades.

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The group's account had gone live only one week ago, during which time countless complaints were lodged with TikTok against the content Lehava posted.

TikTok said in a statement that Lehava's account has been permanently blocked over "repeated violations of our community conduct regulations."

Social media giant Facebook blocked removed Lehava's account several years ago.

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The 25-year-old Haas won acclaim for her role as Esty, a young Haredi woman from Brooklyn who flees to Berlin to escape an unhappy arranged marriage and embraces a secular lifestyle there.

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The four-episode series was inspired by the 2012 memoir Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots, by Deborah Feldman.

Haas wrote on Instagram in response to her nomination: "Thank you for all the beautiful messages today. I'm still processing it and trying to find the right words. I am so happy and so lucky to have had the privilege of portraying this character and to be nominated for it. Thank you to everyone who took part in the show and made this happen. Thank you to everyone who shared their love. I feel it all. I'm truly grateful."

Unorthodox was nominated for eight Emmy awards including Outstanding Limited Series.

A video shared on Instagram by the actress showed her and Unorthodox co-star Amit Rahav, who plays the character Yanky Shapiro in the series, first receiving the news of their show's nomination. We think it's fair to say they were happy about it.

Video: Instagram

Haas was nominated in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV movie, alongside Cate Blanchett ("Mrs. America"), Regina King ("Watchmen"), Octavia Spencer ("Self Made"), and Kerry Washington ("Little Fires Everywhere").

"The fact that this show managed to touch so many people's hearts and to get to so many people, with the fact that 50 percent is in Yiddish, it just shows that it [transcends boundaries]," Haas told Entertainment Tonight after the nominations. "For example, when I read the script, I felt attached. It's a different culture and a very different person than me, and I still see myself in this character. And people, maybe they're getting tired of seeing only themselves. I think people want to see someone that looks different from them and still manage to see themselves."

Haas won the award for Best Actress at the Tribeca Film Festival in April for her role in the film Asia.

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Gadot, who gained international fame for her performance in "Wonder Woman," will star as heroine Irena Sendler in the film of the same name, the Deadline website reported Friday.

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"As producers, we want to help bring stories that have inspired us to life," Gadot and her husband and co-producer Jaron Varsano told Deadline.

"[We] will create content that promotes the perspectives and experiences of unique people and produce impactful stories aimed at igniting the imagination," she said.

Irena Sendler was a Catholic nun and a friend of the Polish resistance. During the war, she used forged documents to smuggle Jewish children out of the hands of the Nazis.

Sendler saved some 2,500 Jewish children. She has been recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations and given honorary Israeli citizenship. She died in 2008 at the age of 98.

Gadot has spoken many times about her personal connection to the Holocaust – her grandfather, Abraham Weiss, survived Auschwitz. The actress has discussed her desire to work on a Holocaust-themed film.

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