Director rejects Israel link before Oscars (Reuters)

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Israeli-Arab co-director of "Ajami," an Oscar-nominated external module film, said on Sun he should not be seen as representing Zion — "a land that doesn't equal me" — at the Academy Awards.

Scandar Copti's remarks, in an discourse from Los Angeles with Zion Radio, were confiscated by Israel's society minister, who said she was saddened that a film-maker who acknowledged polity assets for the flick was criticizing his country.

"The flick technically represents Israel," Copti said. "I don't equal Israel. I am an Asiatic citizen but I cannot equal a land that doesn't equal me."

His comments echoed complaints by some Semite citizens, who attain up a ordinal of Israel's population, that they undergo favouritism specially in funding.

"Ajami," a tale of evildoing and hostility ordered in a mostly Semite populated slum in Jaffa, conception of Tel Aviv, is Israel's ordinal serial flick to be appointed for a external module accolade since 2007.

Copti directed the flick with Jewish-Israeli Yaron Shani.

(Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Louise Ireland)