Marvel Entertainment has stripped the Israeli identity from one of its characters, Sabra, and rewritten her backstory, describing her as Russian instead, ahead of the release of Captain America: Brave New World.
The Jerusalem Post reported:
The Israeli background of Marvel Comics superhero Sabra has been removed for her depiction in the upcoming Marvel Studios ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ movie, according to a Friday official summary of the film.
While in the original Marvel comics continuity Ruth Bat-Seraph serves as the Mossad agent mutant superhero Sabra, in a recent summary for the February 2025 film Bat-Seraph is described as a former member of the Soviet Russian Black Widow super spy program — the same program that trained Scarlett Johansson’s Avenger of the same name.
Played by Israeli actress Shira Hass, Bat-Seraph is “a former Black Widow, Ruth is now a high-ranking US government official who has the trust of President [Thaddeus] Ross.”
The Jewish Chronicle reported:
In its latest blockbuster, due out next February, Israeli actress Shira Haas plays Sabra, a character who first appeared in a 1980 edition of The Incredible Hulk. Those of us who can remember 1980 (I was a teenager) recall it as a tough but more hopeful time than today for the Middle East. Israel and Egypt had just made peace. The Camp David accords laid out a framework for Palestinian self-governance.
Marvel’s Sabra, real name Ruth Ben Seraph was born near Jerusalem and was brought up on a special kibbutz run by the Israeli government, and worked for the Tel Aviv police. Ruth – nicknamed Sabra – was the first superhuman agent created to serve the Mossad. She wore a blue and white costume. Everything about her was Jewish and Israeli.
Inevitably the decision to introduce Sabra into a Marvel film – Captain America: A Brave New World – caused controversy. People started shouting about a boycott as soon as the film was announced. But now the trailer is out, and a different group of people are shouting. Sabra (though played by Israeli actress Shira Haas) doesn’t work for Mossad and doesn’t seem to be Israeli at all. Instead she is a former Russian operative, now working for the American government.
Euro News recalls that pro-Palestinian activists threatened to boycott the film when it was first announced. It adds that claims that the character was named after a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon that was targeted by Lebanese Christian militias in a 1982 massacre are false; the Sabra character was introduced two years before that. (“Sabra” is the Hebrew term referring to a native-born Israeli, and also refers to a prickly pear fruit produced by a local cactus.)
The Hollywood Reporter noted that anti-Israel activists are still planning to boycott the film, despite the changes:
In Captain America 4, the name Sabra will not be used. The character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk comic book in 1980, and she wore a blue and white outfit featuring a Star of David. She was dubbed the first Israeli superheroine and was an important fixture in the Marvel comic universe, despite never having her own series.
Yet the original comic character was considered by some to be problematic, with Sabra often fighting Arabic terrorist tropes.
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One protest messaging currently making the rounds: “The character’s backstory includes working for the genocidal Israeli government and its occupation forces. By reviving this racist character in any form, Marvel is promoting Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.”
The decision to change some details about Sabra was made in 2022. However, the confirmation that Sabra will no longer be Israeli — despite being portrayed by an Israeli — has struck observers as a capitulation to boycott threats.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
