`To the dustbin of history'
Gadot ignites social media firestorm after Middle East tweet
Gal Gadot was at the centre of a social media backlash this week, after she shared her hopes for peace between her native Israel and their “neighbours” in Palestine.
The Wonder Woman star took to Twitter amid boiling tensions in the Middle East, leading to at least 28 Palestinians being killed in airstrikes conducted by Israel's military across Gaza.
“My heart breaks. My country is at war,” Gadot, who was born in Israel, wrote. “I worry for my family, my friends. I worry for my people. This is a vicious cycle that has been going on for far too long.
“Israel deserves to live as a free and safe nation. Our neighbours deserve the same. I pray for the victims and their families, I pray for this unimaginable hostility to end, I pray for our leaders to find the solution so we could live side by side in peace. I pray for better days.”
However, while Gadot had intended her post to be a message of peace, she quickly sparked backlash amid her followers — with many referencing her two-year service as a soldier for the Israeli Defense Force.
“Reminder Gal Gadot served in the IDF for two years where she not only witnessed the ethnic cleansing of Palestine firsthand but also actively supported it. How can you advocate to stop the vicious cycle of terror when you are standing on the front lines enabling it #FreePalestine,” one person wrote.
“People really said we were exaggerating when we said boycott
Gal Gadot who acts as a literal tool of propaganda for her government and the occupation forces she once served in. She can't even say the word Palestinian. To the dustbin of history,” another added.
Others supported Gadot, pointing out that serving in the IDF for at least two or three years is compulsory for every male and female Israeli once they turn 18. The backlash led to Gadot turning off comments on her post. She has yet to respond to the controversy.