Israeli Mossad ‘superhero’ to star in Marvel blockbuster Captain America

Israeli actress Shira Haas will be playing Israeli superhero Sabra in the forthcoming new Marvel movie, after the cast was revealed at Disney’s D23 Expo on Saturday, in a controversial move described as "disgusting" by pro-Palestine advocates.

The aptly-named Captain America: New World Order is set for release on May 3, 2024, and very little is yet known about the plot. 

Sabra, the pseudonym of Ruth Bat-Seraph, first appeared in the Incredible Hulk comic books in 1980. 

She first crossed paths with the Hulk because she thought he was working with ‘terrorists’ operating in Israel. 

And now for something completely different; a thread on Marvel's Israeli superhero, Sabra, or Ruth Bat-Seraph. Sabra is emblematic of how comics reproduce stereotypes, reduce complex situations to simple solutions with clear right & wrong, but reflect the state of discourse. 1/19 pic.twitter.com/EZ49SjwsPF

— Simcha Gross (@Simcha_Gross) August 24, 2020

Sabra, who has mutant powers that she uses in service of the Israeli state, was the first superhero in the Marvel canon to work with security agency Mossad. 

According to Marvel lore, she was raised on a special Kibbutz run by the Israeli government to ‘nurture’ her abilities and describes herself in cartoons as “super heroine of the state of Israel!”

This is how Arabs are presented in Sabra’s first appearance in Marvel comics. The word Palestinian is never used. An Arab child in the comic who is an illiterate liar and thief is killed by black veiled bombers so Sabra can cry over them. Literally shoot and cry propaganda. pic.twitter.com/qh10S9VzsF

— Khaldoun Khelil 🥇Ennie 🇵🇸🇩🇿 #freePalestine (@kkhelil) September 11, 2022

Throughout her appearances in various comics, she typically appears dressed in a design based on the Israeli flag and possesses the weaponry typically given to members of the Israeli army. 

Many social media users have commented on coincidence that the Israeli superhero bears the same name as the Sabra massacre which took place in 1982. 

Palestinians have responded angrily on social media, with one asking "Who will she be fighting? Little kids with rocks?"

Palestinian poet Ehab Judah said that there are "not enough words to explain how disgusting this is... Apartheid ‘Israel’ with their propaganda machine trying to ‘clean’ up their narrative by using an ‘Israeli’ superhero... Marvel you should be ashamed."