Actress Natalie Portman Visits Terror Victims with OneFamily

Natalie Portman, with a wounded soldier, her cousin Daniella, and OneFamily representative Nava Formansky

Actress Natalie Portman, who has starred in such films as V is for Vendetta, Star Wars, and Closer, visited Israel’s Tel HaShomer long-term rehabilitation hospital with OneFamily Area-Coordinator Nava Formansky in August 2006.

After Israel’s war against Hezabollah in which 157 Israelis were killed and over 3,000 wounded, Ms. Portman expressed interest in visiting wounded victims to show her support. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself; she only wanted to bring comfort to the victims.

Portman speaks with a soldier who was paralyzed from the waist down while battling terrorists in southern Lebanon

And that she did.

Natalie spoke to the wounded soldiers, most of whom were her age, in Hebrew on their level. She spent five hours with OneFamily field workers and visited more than 40 soldiers, spending time with and delivering a small gift to each.

Ms. Portman’s own cousin Daniella Raveh was injured badly in a terrorist attack at the Kfar Saba train station several years ago. She joined Natalie and OneFamily at the hospital.

The wounded soldiers at Tel HaShomer all face a long road to recovery. Some have lost limbs, some are paralyzed, and some have sustained serious internal injuries.

One of the soldiers she met with, Or Bar-On, lost both of his legs battling Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon. Bar-On, a musician, pulled out his guitar when Natalie walked in, and the two sang together. One of the first things Bar-On had done upon regaining concsiousness in the hospital was to ask for a guitar. Now he plays from his hospital bed all the time.

Natalie Portman sings with Or Bar-On who lost both of his legs fighting in southern Lebanon

Ms. Portman’s visit came as a complete surprise to the soldiers, and they were all struck by her kindness. She has a genuine concern for them and Israel’s victims of terror. After what her cousin Daniella went through, she knows the destruction caused by terrorism, and how important it is to comfort those whose lives have been shattered by it.