Natalie Portman-Backed Group Led Arab Vote Surge in Israel

Actress Natalie Portman has publicly backed Standing Together three times since 2025, and the Jewish-Arab movement ran a national drive to get Arab citizens to the polls in Israel's Oct. 27, 2026 election. Early counts reported by Hebrew outlets put Arab turnout near 80%, far above past elections, though final figures are still being confirmed.

The movement's co-director, Alon-Lee Green, spent the final days before the vote touring Arab towns, including Umm al-Fahm, where he said turnout had been 38% last time and could reach 80%. Portman, the Oscar-winning Israeli-American actress, has publicly supported the group and its leaders, sharing its content, fronting a donation appeal and addressing a fundraiser for its political offshoot.

How Did Standing Together Get Arab Voters to the Polls?

Standing Together built a national get-out-the-vote operation aimed at Arab youth and women, run through street canvassing and phone banks. The group's donation page says it held more than 20,000 voter conversations and fielded 15,000 more inquiries, with call centers at seven sites around the country.

The campaign's published plan set targets of training 1,000 community leaders, all from families bereaved by violence and crime, personally reaching 200,000 young people and women, and mobilizing 300,000 more through WhatsApp in the final week. It also aimed to expose 1.5 million people in Arab society to its messaging. Those were the group's goals, not verified results.

On election day, The Jerusalem Post reported that Arab voters received a recorded call from Sousan Sultan, whose sister was killed in 2025 and whose husband was murdered in August 2026, urging them to vote in her sister's name. The group's message was that violence and crime in Arab communities had reached an unprecedented low and that voting was the way to change it.

What Happened to Arab Turnout on Election Day?

Hebrew media reported a sharp rise. Kikar HaShabbat's early count put Arab turnout at about 80%, significantly higher than in previous campaigns, and Davar reported national turnout of 77.7% at 10 p.m., the highest for that hour since 2001. Haaretz and i24NEWS described Arab voters turning out in large numbers, with i24 noting the Arab parties emerged as a factor that could shape the next government.

Standing Together was not the only force behind the surge. Haaretz argued the campaign against Arab voters helped drive them to the polls, and other groups, including a civil-society coalition and the Arab parties themselves, ran their own turnout efforts. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged his supporters to vote to counter Arab participation, and Ynet later documented AI-generated and false claims about fraud at Arab polling stations.

Why Did Standing Together's Party Drop Out?

In June 2026, Green and fellow co-director Rula Daood announced a Jewish-Arab party, A Place for Us All (Makom Lekulanu), to run in the Knesset election. On Sept. 8, the filing deadline, the party announced it would not submit a list, citing responsibility and a wish not to burn votes, according to Davar. The leaders then put their effort into turnout.

Portman Has Backed Standing Together Three Times Since 2025

In August 2025, Portman shared a full video on her Instagram Stories of Standing Together co-director Rula Daood addressing a crowd of Jews and Palestinians, telling Gazans "your tears are our tears, and your pain is our pain," according to Israel Hayom. The outlet reported the choice to share the full clip was read as a clear expression of solidarity with Daood's message.

Five months later, on January 2, 2026, UK Friends of Standing Together published Portman's Standing Together donation appeal, titled "A message from Natalie Portman." Portman wrote that she has been "inspired by Standing Together's actions" and told readers: "I urge you to support Standing Together's grassroots fight for Israeli-Palestinian peace." The page ends with a "Make a Donation to Standing Together Today" button.

On July 19, 2026, she addressed an online fundraiser for A Place for Us All, the party Standing Together's co-directors launched ahead of the election. Haaretz reported she called it one of the most courageous and exciting developments in Israel-Palestine in recent years. The party later withdrew from the race. Three separate, direct engagements with the same movement across eleven months show a sustained relationship, not a one-time endorsement.

Who Is Natalie Portman?

Natalie Portman is an Israeli-American actress and director born in Jerusalem in 1981, who moved to the United States as a child and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for "Black Swan" in 2011.

In April 2018, Portman withdrew from the ceremony for Israel's Genesis Prize, a $1 million award she had been named to receive, after learning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to speak at the event. "I chose not to attend because I did not want to appear as endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu," she wrote on Instagram. The Genesis Prize Foundation canceled the ceremony in response. Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev said at the time that Portman had "fallen like a ripe fruit into the hands of BDS supporters." Portman went on to call Israel's 2018 nation-state law "racist."

Not every Jewish celebrity's public record since October 7 has moved in this direction. See Jerry Seinfeld on Israel and Jewish Identity for a contrasting case.

Standing Together's Own Co-Director Calls Israel's Actions "Genocide" and "Apartheid"

Standing Together co-director Alon-Lee Green said in a recorded interview that Israel faced a choice between reconciliation and continuing down "the direction of eternal war, genocide, annihilation, occupation, and apartheid." Standing Together's own website separately states its task is "to build a shared struggle against the occupation and apartheid in the West Bank" as a step toward "an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel."

Standing Together's Funder Says Israel Is Committing "War Crimes"

The New Israel Fund, which grants to Standing Together, published its own account of a Standing Together-led protest in Tel Aviv, describing the demonstrators' aim as securing "the end of the war, the return of all remaining hostages in Gaza, an end to the war crimes being committed against Palestinian people in Gaza, and a peaceful resolution to the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

The Reservist Refusal Campaign

In September 2025, over 300 reservists signed a refusal letter announcing they would not report for duty in the planned Gaza City operation. The Times of Israel reported the effort was "affiliated with the left-wing anti-war group Standing Together." Combat medic Max Kresch, speaking for the group, called the refusal "a patriotic duty."

That same month, activists vandalized IDF chief Eyal Zamir's home, spraying it with red liquid. Eight activists were arrested. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it "the vandalism of Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir's home by extremist protestors." Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the suspects "radical extremists." National Unity leader Benny Gantz said the attack was "not protest or criticism, it is simply madness." Green said on video that activists came "to spill rivers of blood symbolizing the blood of the hostages, the Palestinians, and the soldiers that will spill if we permanently occupy Gaza," and called on Israel to "withdraw from Gaza."

Israel's Own Army Radio Pulled Green From the Air Over His Record

In August 2023, Arutz Sheva reported that Galei Tzahal canceled Green's segment after his past statements surfaced, including calling Palestinian militants "freedom fighters." The station's head of programming, Tali Lipkin-Shahak, said on the record that the station could not "give a platform in a personally-hosted program to those who justify harm to IDF soldiers... risking their lives."

Israeli Rapper HaTzel Has Accused Portman of "Blood Libels"

Israeli rapper and right-wing social-media personality Yoav Eliasi, known by his stage name HaTzel ("The Shadow"), has repeatedly attacked Portman over her posts on Gaza. In August 2025, after she shared protest footage and hunger-related reporting, Eliasi accused her of spreading "blood libels" and said she has been "spitting hatred on her country for years," demanding her Israeli citizenship be revoked and that she be declared persona non grata.

In an earlier 2022 post, Eliasi compiled a list of statements he attributed to Portman, captioning it: "Natalie Portman to foreign media: Israel occupies, Israel apartheid, free Sheikh Jarrah, IDF murderers in Gaza." That caption is Eliasi's own characterization and compilation of her past remarks, not a verified direct quote from Portman herself.

How Extreme Is Standing Together Considered?

From the Israeli right and center, the language has been blunt. Beyond the "extremist" and "radical extremist" labels attached to the Zamir vandalism, Israeli journalist Ben Caspit has called Green a "terror supporter" on the record, a characterization Knesset member Tali Gottlieb echoed when she publicly objected to his scheduled Galei Tzahal broadcast. NGO Monitor tracks Standing Together's NIF funding as one of roughly 32 "political advocacy NGOs" inside the New Israel Fund's grant network. Wikipedia identifies NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based watchdog, as right-wing and pro-Israel in orientation; it notes the group's NIF funding increased in 2020 alongside groups like B'Tselem and Adalah that NGO Monitor has separately criticized over their characterizations of Israel.

Who Funds Standing Together?

Standing Together has received a grant from the Sigrid Rausing Trust worth £100,000 for 2025 and 2026, distributed through the New Israel Fund. Filings with Israel's Registrar of Non-Profits, cited on Standing Together's Wikipedia page, list additional foreign funding from Germany's Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, a political foundation affiliated with Germany's democratic-socialist Left Party, along with Germany's forumZFD and roughly $750,000 cumulative from the New Israel Fund between 2015 and 2020.

That funding history sits awkwardly next to Standing Together's own donation page, which tells visitors: "We have no wealthy backers. And no foreign governments either. To fund our activity, we need you." The documented grants from a UK trust, two German foundations, and a US-based fund do not square with that claim.

The group's UK support arm has its own record on the subject of extremism. UK Friends of Standing Together, the same organization that hosts Portman's donation appeal, opposed banning Palestine Action, a group the UK designated a terrorist organization under anti-terror law in 2025. The statement also acknowledged that "antisemitic narratives and ideas have been present" at demonstrations the group has joined.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Standing Together get Arab voters to the polls?
Standing Together ran a national get-out-the-vote operation aimed at Arab youth and women, using street canvassing and call centers at seven sites. The group says it held more than 20,000 voter conversations, and on election day it sent recorded calls from relatives of victims of violence and crime urging people to vote.

What was Arab turnout in Israel's October 2026 election?
Early counts reported by Hebrew outlets put Arab turnout at about 80%, well above previous elections. Final official figures from the Central Elections Committee had not been confirmed at the time of writing, and several groups ran turnout efforts.

What happened to the party Standing Together's leaders launched?
Alon-Lee Green and Rula Daood launched A Place for Us All in June 2026, but on Sept. 8 it announced it would not run, citing responsibility and a wish not to burn votes. The leaders then focused on turnout.

Has Portman backed Standing Together more than once?
Yes. Portman has engaged with Standing Together three times since August 2025: sharing a video of co-director Rula Daood on Instagram, fronting a direct donation appeal in January 2026, and addressing a fundraiser for A Place for Us All in July 2026.

Who is Natalie Portman?
Natalie Portman is an Israeli-American actress and director born in Jerusalem in 1981, who moved to the United States as a child and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for "Black Swan" in 2011.

Why did Natalie Portman withdraw from the 2018 Genesis Prize?
Portman withdrew from the ceremony after learning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to speak, writing on Instagram that she did not want to appear to be endorsing him. The Genesis Prize Foundation canceled the ceremony in response.

Has Natalie Portman called any Israeli law "racist"?
Yes. After withdrawing from the 2018 Genesis Prize ceremony, Portman went on to call Israel's 2018 nation-state law "racist."

Has Standing Together's co-director called Israel's actions "genocide" and "apartheid"?
Standing Together co-director Alon-Lee Green said in a recorded interview that Israel faced a choice between reconciliation and continuing toward "eternal war, genocide, annihilation, occupation, and apartheid." The group's own website separately says its task is fighting occupation and apartheid in the West Bank.

Has Standing Together's funder called Israel's actions "war crimes"?
The New Israel Fund, which grants to Standing Together, described a Standing Together-led protest as seeking an end to "the war crimes being committed against Palestinian people in Gaza."

Has an Israeli rapper accused Portman of "blood libels"?
Israeli rapper Yoav Eliasi, known as HaTzel ("The Shadow"), has repeatedly attacked Portman over her Gaza-related posts, accusing her of spreading "blood libels" and calling for her Israeli citizenship to be revoked.

Has Standing Together's leadership been called extremist?
Israeli officials and journalists have called Standing Together activists "extremists," "radical extremists," and a "terror supporter," while NGO Monitor tracks the group inside the New Israel Fund's political advocacy network.

Does Standing Together disclose foreign funding?
Standing Together has received a £100,000 grant from the UK's Sigrid Rausing Trust, funding from Germany's Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and forumZFD, and roughly $750,000 cumulative from the New Israel Fund between 2015 and 2020, even though its own donation page tells visitors it has no foreign government backers.

The Bottom Line

Standing Together put its weight behind getting Arab citizens to vote in Israel's most closely watched election in years, and early Hebrew-language reports show Arab turnout reaching roughly 80%. Portman has backed the movement and its leaders three times across eleven months. The group remains a lightning rod, with critics pointing to its reservist-refusal campaign, the Zamir home vandalism, its co-director's rhetoric and its foreign funding, while supporters point to its Jewish-Arab organizing and the turnout push.

A Hebrew-language version of this report, drawing on original Hebrew-language sourcing, is available here: נטלי פורטמן תומכת בעומדים ביחד.