With the war between Israel and Palestine raging for over 16 months now, Israel-born actor Gal Gadot has appealed for end to hatred for Jews. At the Anti-Defamation League's International Leadership Awards, Gal was honoured for her continued support for Israel. She even delivered a long speech on how difficult it has become for Jews around the world to voice their concerns. (Also read: Did Gal Gadot decline to present Best Documentary Oscar to Pro-Palestinian film? Israeli actress breaks silence)
She began her speech, "As we all know, hatred intolerance and bigotry are on the rise. Most of us will never have experienced a worst time for antisemitism in our lifetimes, but we should feel safer knowing that the ADL has our backs."
A controversial statement
She made a strong impression as she said, “My name is Gal, and I'm Jewish. Isn't it crazy that just saying that [I'm Jewish], just expressing such a simple fact about who I am, feels like a controversial statement?”
Gal mentioned that the cause was never close to her mind before but October 7 was ‘a wakeup call’. "I'm Israeli, of course, and I knew that antisemitism and anti-Israel hate existed. And like all of us, sometimes I'd caught a whiff of it. But I never thought of myself as being where I came from. It was an aspect of who I am, but it didn't define me."
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Israel, marking the deadliest day in Israel’s history. The attack began early in the morning with thousands of rockets fired from Gaza into Israeli territory. Simultaneously, Hamas militants breached the heavily fortified border, infiltrating Israeli towns and military bases.
“Never did I imagine that we would witness a day of such death and destruction of Jews in our lifetime. And never did I imagine that on the streets of the United States and different cities around the world, we would see people not condemning Hamas, but celebrating, justifying, and cheering on a massacre of Jews,” she said.
She added, "October 7th showed us that what happens to Jews anywhere affects Jews everywhere. Not only what happens there affects us here, but what happens here affects them there. So here we are in this room together, calling for the release of every single one of our hostages."
Hard to speak about the issue
Gal acknowledged that in today's environment, many Jewish individuals may find it "deeply unsettling" to speak up and address the hostility they face. "This has been a reality for all of us, regardless of our field or profession, including mine," she added.
"But we can't just wait, hoping for support from those who have no intention of standing with us," she said. "We need to stand up for ourselves."
Apart from Gal, Friends actor David Schwimmer was also honoured at the event and delivered a speech. He asked people around the world to support Israel and Jews
