BREAKING NEWS

Two US groups urge Oscar nominees to skip Israel swag bag trip

Oscar-nominated celebrities were urged on Wednesday to skip a $55,000 trip to Israel offered as part of an awards gift bag.
Two US based groups campaigning for an end to what they call Israel's "occupation" of the Palestinian territories made the plea in a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times that appeared five days before the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday.
Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation -- one of the two groups sponsoring the ad -- explains.