Helen Mirren
Helen MirrenHadas Parush/Flash90

British actress Maureen Lipman has criticized the casting of Helen Mirren, who is not Jewish, as former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in a new movie titled “Golda.”

Lipman, a Jewish actress notable for appearing with the UK National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company and on British television, told the Jewish Chronicle that the role should have been given to a Jewish actress.

"The Jewishness of the character is so integral,” Lipman said. "I'm sure she will be marvellous, but it would never be allowed for Ben Kingsley to play Nelson Mandela. You just couldn't even go there."

Mirren was quoted in November as saying it was a "great challenge to portray [Golda Meir] at the most difficult moment of her extraordinary life."

She added: “I only hope I do her justice.”

“Lioness,” a TV miniseries directed by Barbra Streisand, starring Israeli actress Shira Haas as Golda Meir, is also in the planning stages.