Is Woody Allen Headed to Israel?

Woody Allen Image by Getty Images

By Anne Cohen October 15, 2013

His most recent films may be based in just about every (almost) Western European capital, but Woody Allen says he’s not a big tourist.

But in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 on the eve of “Blue Jasmine“‘s European release, everyone’s favorite neurotic admitted to considering bending the rules for a trip to the Holy Land.

“My wife is of Korean origin and she’s been trying for years to convince me to go to South Korea with her — so far, unsuccessfully,”he said, according to the Times of Israel. “She’s also very curious about Israel and wants to go there with the girls, so they can see and understand their father’s Jewish culture. I assume we’ll go and visit Israel soon. There’s no way around it.”

Allen has never visited Israel, though he brandished the hasbara banner when asked about his thoughts on the country: “I support Israel and I’ve supported it since the day it was founded,” he said. “Israel’s neighbors have treated it badly, cruelly, instead of embracing it and making it part of the Middle East family of nations. Over the years Israel has responded to these attacks in various ways, some of which I approved of and some less so. I understand that Israelis have been through hard times, I don’t expect Israel to react perfectly every time and that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a wonderful, marvelous country.”

The 77-year-old also included a signature zinger. When asked if it’s harder to be a Jew in America today, he answered: “No, I don’t think so,” before adding: “by the low standards of tolerance for Jews all over the world, America’s been a very tolerant country.”

Anne Cohen was the Forward’s deputy digital media editor. When she’s not looking for the secret Jewish history of Voodoo in New Orleans, or making lists about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she writes for The Assimilator. She graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism with an M.S. magazine concentration in 2012.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO