The Israeli government is offering directors and actors shortlisted for this year’s Oscars a trip to the Holy Land worth $55,000 (£38,000) in the hope of countering recent bad press for the country.



The voucher for a 10-day trip, valid for one year and partly funded by the Israeli government, which is also being offered to the ceremony’s presenters, is the most expensive freebie in the Oscars gift bag, making up a quarter of the bag’s $200,000 value.

The trip, which includes first-class flights for two and accommodation in five-star hotels, is worth roughly twice the average Israeli salary.

The Israeli tourism minister, Yariv Levin, said the unprecedented initiative was intended to allow some of the world’s most privileged and wealthy individuals to “experience the country first hand and not through the media”.

He said: “These are the most senior people in the film industry in Hollywood and leading opinion-formers who we are interested in hosting. Their visit will have enormous resonance among millions of fans and followers, including social media.”

The initiative would cost about $1.5m (£1m) if all those offered the trip took it up.

Israeli observers pointed out that some Hollywood figures, including the best supporting actor nominees Mark Ruffalo and Mark Rylance, had been vocal in support of Palestinian statehood.

Pro-Israeli groups spend large sums on efforts to promote the country’s image, including to critique what Israel labels as biased foreign media coverage. The expenditure has included funding trips for journalists to Israel.

Aaron Klein, Jerusalem correspondent of rightwing website Breitbart, wrote: “Despite attempts by the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement to target Israel, especially in the entertainment world, the Academy Awards seems to be taking a stand in solidarity with the Jewish state.”

Other giveaways in the Oscars gift package put together by a Los Angeles PR firm include a very expensive e-cigarette, a fitness retreat in a private villa and a “vampire” breast lift – a procedure that uses the patient’s own blood to achieve “rounder cleavage without implants”.