Gal Gadot, an Israeli-born actress, is facing criticism after making a speech during this week’s deterioration in the Israel-Palestine conflict. The Wonder Woman actress, who has recently been chastised for her views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said, “My country is at war,” and referred to Palestinians as “our neighbors.” Her comments were unanimously criticized on Twitter. This week, Israel and Hamas-led rebels exchanged missile fire; unrest has also erupted in Israel between the country’s Jewish and minority Arabic populations. The fighting is at its worst in seven years, with over 50 people killed in Gaza, many of them teenagers, and seven in Israel, including an Indian woman.
“My heart hurts,” wrote Gal Gadot, who spent her obligatory two years in the Israeli Defense Forces,” in her post. My nation is in a state of war. I’m concerned for my family and friends. I’m concerned for my people. This is a vicious spiral that has lasted way too long. Israel needs to be a free and secure country. Our neighbors are entitled to the same. I pray for the victims and their families, for this unbearable hostility to end, and for our politicians to find a solution so that we can coexist in peace. “I’m hoping for happier days.”
Commentators on social media reacted angrily to Gal Gadot’s usage of the name “neighbors” as well as her words “My country is at war.”
“Gal Gadot is incorrect. Israel is not at ‘war’ with Palestine. Israel is butchering Palestine once again,” singer James Kennedy tweeted. “Israeli soldier turned Hollywood’s Wonder Woman multimillionaire Gal Gadot sends empty thoughts and prayers as the Israeli apartheid government she helps ethnically cleanses Palestinians and bombings Gazans in an open-air prison camp,” many pointed out.
The Israel-Palestine crisis erupted this week as Hamas fired over 1,000 rockets into Jerusalem after Israel’s eviction of thousands of Palestinians from the capital. According to the news agency AFP, Israel retaliated with airstrikes, damaging Gaza City’s Al-Farouk Tower, causing Hamas to launch more rockets. According to Reuters, Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin has cautioned of civil war; domestic strife between Israeli Jews and the pro-Palestinian Arab minority has resulted in the torching of a synagogue and vehicles, as well as protests and Mob Violence.
