The Wonder Woman - Gal Gadot

By Zanna Linskaia

While the most of Hollywood celebrities criticize and blame Israel for the war in Gaza since October 7 massacre by Hamas and Islamic terrorists, one voice is loud and undoubted to the world on Israel, its rights to defend itself, to free hostages and fight against rising anti-Semitism in USA and the Western countries.

This voice belongs to Gal Gadot, beautiful, smart and brave actress in her online posts, talks on TV, speeches at the communities or at the film festivals.  Everywhere, she could. Addressing to her audience, she always introduces herself: “Who am I? I am Gal Gadot and I am Jewish.” She talks not only about her Jewish identity, but also about her ancestors, who were murdered at Auschwitz gas chambers, and what it means to carry memory while watching Anti - Semitism rise again.

That is exactly why one of her speeches stayed with me. “I regarded myself as a citizen of the world, - said Gal. Equal among the equals. If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, then when?” Gal Gadot used this wise dictum from “Pirkei Avot” 1:14, written by the great Rabbi Hillel:

אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי, מִי לִי. וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה אֲנִי. וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתַי

There are people outside the Jewish communities, who hear this, who understand it, and who stand with us, not out of guilt, not out of ideology, but because these principles are matter for all of us.

Gal Gadot was born in Israel to Jewish parents of Ashkenazi descent with the roots of Czech, Polish, Austrian, Russian and German. The actress considers herself as a sabra of 8th generation, an indigenous person in Israel. After high school she served in IDF, and at age 18 she became “Miss Israel”. In 2007, while still serving in Israeli army, Gal Gadot has appeared in the magazine “Maxim” and in “New York Post” newspaper. She was invited for the short episodes and small roles in Hollywood films and TV shows. In 2014 Gal Gadot signed a 3 pictures deal with Warner Bros. to play as “Wonder Woman”.

To fit this role, Gal took lessons in swordsmanship, Kung Fu, kickboxing, capoeira and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. The success of the movie was huge, and Gal Gadot became one of the great Hollywood stars. The list of the films in which she plays, is enormous.   Gal appears as an actress, producer, model, Soundtrack in drama, romantic movies, thrillers and even in National Geographic for “Impact with Gal Gadot”.

Her personal life has also changed. She got happily married to Israeli real estate developer Yaron Versano and they have 2 daughters - Alma and Maya. One thing did not change - her love and support of Israel.

“I could not be silent”, - says Gal, refusing to back down in defense of her native country. “Never did I imagine, that on the streets of USA and around the world we would see people not condemning Hamas but celebrating and cheering on a massacre of Jews. I was shocked by the amount of hate.”

During the promotional period of her last movie in 2025 Disney's “Snow White”, where Gal Gadot played the “Evil Queen”, the pressure by mass media was unprecedented. Pro-Palestinian supporters called to boycott the film and her Walk of Fame. Hollywood and box office demanded to speak out against Israel, and the haters accused the actress in “genocide” of children and women in Gaza.

Despite the backlash her comments have ignited and “Snow White” ratings went down, Gal Gadot has no regrets about her support of Jewish state and IDF heroes.

Is Gal Gadot only the Wonder Woman of Hollywood? Or is she a modern heroine from the Purim “Megillah Esther”, who supports her own people, fights for them, and her love to Israel is stronger than enemies’ hate?