Israeli actress Gal Gadot defended her decision to continue speaking out against Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in Israel, saying in an interview she was “shocked” by how much vitriol she faced for her stance.
In an interview ahead of her receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday – which was nearly disrupted by a clash between anti-Israel and pro-Israel demonstrators – the actress said that speaking up about the terror attack more than a year ago was more important than staying silent and avoiding controversy.
“I was shocked by the amount of hate, by the amount of how much people think they know when they actually have no idea, and also by how the media is not fair many times. So I had to speak up,” the actress told Variety.
Israeli actress Gal Gadot defended her public outspokenness on the atrocities committed against Israel by Hamas. (Getty Images)
Gadot, the “Wonder Woman” star who portrays the evil queen in Disney’s upcoming “Snow White” remake, condemned the Hamas terror attack the day that it happened.
“I stand with Israel, you should too,” Gadot posted on Instagram on October 7. “The world cannot sit on the fence when these horrific acts of terror are happening!”
Since then, she has posted videos and photos of the hostages still being held captive by Hamas, along with the hashtag #NoHostageLeftBehind.
Gadot also spearheaded a Hollywood screening of 47 minutes of Israeli Defense Forces footage of the atrocities committed on Oct. 7 one month after the attack.
ISRAELI POLICE SAY EXTREME SEXUAL VIOLENCE, RAPE BY HAMAS TERRORISTS WAS ‘SYSTEMATIC’
“Snow White” star Gal Gadot. (Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images))
The actress also rebuked the world the following month for having “failed” the women who suffered sexual assault on October 7.
“We claim we stand against rape, violence against women,” she wrote in a social media post. “We will not let women be victimized and then silenced. We say we believe women, stand with women, speak out for women.”
She added the world has failed to call the situation what it is, “an urgent emergency that demands a decisive response.”
In the Variety interview, Gadot acknowledged that she doesn’t usually weigh in on political issues or controversial topics but declared that she couldn’t stay silent on the massacre and the hundreds of hostages that were taken.
“After October 7th [2023], I don’t talk politics — because who cares about the celebrity talking about politics? I’m an artist. I want to entertain people,” Gadot said. “I want to bring hope and be a beacon of light whenever I say anything about the world.”
She continued, “But on October 7th, when people were abducted from their homes, from their beds, men, women, children, elderly, Holocaust survivors, were going through the horrors of what happened that day, I could not be silent.”
During her walk of fame ceremony this week, anti-Israel protesters clashed with pro-Israel demonstrators nearby, threatening to disrupt the event and resulting in multiple arrests.
In her speech at the event, Gadot stressed the importance of the Jewish community speaking out against antisemitism even if it angers people.
“But this is a time when many of us in the Jewish community have had to find our voice and confront the hatred against us, even if it’s extremely uncomfortable,” she said. “Even if speaking up wasn’t really your thing, none of us can ignore the explosion of Jew hatred around the world anymore.”
Gadot did not respond to a request for comment.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
