Helen Mirren Recalls Volunteering on Kibbutz, Hitchhiking Israel at LA Israeli Film Festival (VIDEO)
by Algemeiner Staff
Iconic actress Helen Mirren was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles on Wednesday, declaring her love for the “great, great country” of Israel.
“I love Israel I think its a great great country. I think that through all the difficulties, and all the pain that Israel has suffered in the past and will in the future, the great thing that Israel has is Israelis, and they will guide it through,” she said.
Mirren recalled fondly memories of the time she spent with her Jewish boyfriend volunteering at the now defunct kibbutz Ha’on in the Galilee region. “I don’t know if any of you are familiar with Ha’on,” said Mirren, to audience applause.
Then, she and her boyfriend hitchhiked around Israel. “I actually slept on the beach in Eilat,” she said.
Mirren said she was taken with the country “and especially the people at that time,” and noted that she has returned to visit a couple of times. She also mentioned her role in The Debt, a 2010 remake of the Israeli film of the same name, in Hebrew, Ha-Hov.
Watch the video of Mirren’s remarks below: