Hunger Games’ Jennifer Lawrence removed from Israeli posters

The difference between the new Hunger Games movie posters displayed in regions of Israel is readily apparent. Photo: YNET

But the US Oscar winner’s pose on promotional posters for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 with bow and arrow will not be seen by residents of two Israeli cities.

The altered posters instead display a picture of a flaming mockingbird or crown in her absence.

The decision to remove the actress from posters has been made because of fears Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak may be offended by the actress’ prominence in the adverts.

Bnei Brak’s ruling has been made in light of previous experiences, where posters displaying female figures have seen acts of vandalism against them. This is because the ultra-conservative city does not allow women to be pictured, with many other types of promotional literature or magazines omitting females from their pages entirely.

Fears over the reaction to a potentially-promiscuous image have informed the decision in Jerusalem, where neighbourhoods of the ethnically-diverse city are also inhabited predominantly by Orthodox Jews.

A statement from the PR firm overseeing the film’s promotion in the country to Israeli news organisation Ynet said: ““We discovered that public posters with the image of a female are often torn down in Jerusalem, while Bnei Brak does not allow posters with female images.

The final film in the Hunger Games series is expected to make over $300m globally on its opening weekend after the film’s general release on November 19.