Mirren visits Jerusalem for new film Golda and says she is inspired by protests

Dame Helen Mirren plays Israel’s first female prime minister, Golda Meir, in her latest film (James Manning/PA)

Dame Helen Mirren, who plays Israel’s first female prime minister in her latest film, said she has been inspired by the widespread protests against the country’s current prime minister.

The British actress, who portrays the late Golda Meir during the 1973 war between Israel and a coalition of Arab states in the film Golda, is visiting an Israel similarly beset by crisis as mass demonstrations take place against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system.