Israeli Actress Faces Death Threats While Filming Netflix’s ’Mary’ in Morocco

"I received messages from Moroccan profiles [on social media] saying they knew which hotel I was staying in," said Noa Cohen, the young Israeli actress who played the mother of Jesus in the Netflix film Mary during her appearance on the show Good Evening with Guy Pines on Keshet 12. She says she felt very insecure. "It didn’t make me feel very safe in the world. And you’re going to film in what is, after all, a Muslim country, Morocco... and you need a special visa to enter, and you have to have heavy security guarding you at all times," she added, specifying that this heavy guarantee was written into her contract.

The young actress continues: "It was terrifying. Some people started to realize I was in Morocco and I received threats on Instagram, threats, it wasn’t always very pleasant." The production ensured the security of this Israeli actress known for having played in Israeli series for teenagers and children. She was treated like a star. What pleased her the most was working with Sir Anthony Hopkins, the double Oscar winner who played King Herod.

After the trailer for the film was released, negative comments were made on social media. "It was amazing to see how the reactions started with ’Zionist’, then went to ’Israeli’, and finally ended up with ’Jewish... you Jewish bitch’ [...]. It was amazing to see how much of it was pure, raw anti-Semitism and nothing else," Cohen said.

Unveiled on December 6, Mary, a feature film, a free adaptation of the Bible, features Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus, played by Noa Cohen and Ido Tako, as the main heroes. The film has been at the top of Netflix’s audience rankings worldwide for nearly a month.