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Gal Gadot Says She’s Optimistic Jewish People ‘Will Prevail’ Against Antisemitism in Aftermath of Oct. 7
Israeli President Isaac Herzog in conversation with Gal Gadot during the “Voice of the People” virtual event. Photo: Screenshot
Israeli actress Gal Gadot discussed antisemitism, the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, and the importance of Jewish unity during a live virtual event with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday to mark the launch of Herzog’s new initiative “Voice of the People.”
In conversation with Herzog during the online event, Gadot began by talking about the emotional impact the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks had on her life.
“I feel like there’s the life until Oct. 7 and the life after Oct. 7,” Gadot told Herzog while wearing on her shirt a pin of a yellow ribbon, which calls for the return of the remaining 101 hostages held captive by Hamas. “I am an Israeli, Jewish mother of four girls, all Jewish, who will have Jewish children. And I’ve always and forever will be proud of my heritage, [and] my Israeli and Jewish identity.”
“Oct. 7 was a turning point for the entire Jewish community around the world,” she added. “No one has ever expected or thought that such a horrific thing could happen to our people — could happen in general in the world in 2024. There’s not a day that goes by without me thinking about the hostages and the fact that we’re even here now talking [while] they’re there in Gaza in the tunnels surviving for almost a year in this hellish reality. That breaks my heart.”
The “Wonder Woman” star added that she can manage facing anti-Israel sentiments, and all she wants now is the return of the hostages held captive by Hamas since Oct. 7.
“Me being a Jewish and Israeli, a famous figure around the world, I can handle it. It’s fine. I want them to come home,” she said, referring to the remaining hostages.
Of the 101 hostages still in Gaza, 97 were kidnapped on Oct. 7. Over 250 people were abducted in total during the Hamas onslaught.
Herzog described the Oct. 7 attacks, in which 1,200 people were murdered and thousands more wounded, as an “earth-shattering event,” and encouraged listeners to remember that as Jews, “we always overcame when we are together.” He added, “We can argue and debate and we will be different. We are 12 tribes. But we must overcome together and this is one of the most — if not the most — challenging moments of the Jewish people and their nation state since the Holocaust.”
“We’ve been through these type of times before — challenging times,” added Gadot, who is the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor. “And this is a very dark time — we must find a way to come together to be proud Jews.”
“Israel is the insurance policy of Jewish people around the world,” she noted. “Israel was born after the Holocaust, and we must make sure Israel will be strong and stable and hopefully one day, I hope soon enough, have peaceful times with all of its neighbors.”
“Voice of the People” is an initiative spearheaded by Herzog that is aimed at promoting Jewish unity. The initiative will convene a global Jewish council with rotating members who will work together on addressing challenges affecting Jews around the world. The initiative has 150 members — 50 from Israel, 50 from the United States and Canada, and 50 from around the world. The members are selected for a two-year term.
When Herzog asked if Gadot has experienced antisemitism in her personal life as a public figure in Hollywood, she said she has seen how sentiments have changed regarding Israel since the start of her career as an actress.
“Fifteen years ago, being Israeli was something people were impressed by and excited about — the strong women of Israel. Now, it’s charged. Now the discussion is different. It changed,” she explained. “And I find myself numerous times, over and over again, having very complicated and ‘uncomfortable’ conversations with people who have some idea about what’s happening, trying to give them the full picture of what’s going on.”
“Antisemitism has always been a part of the Jewish people, unfortunately,” she added. “I’m a big believer that we have the power of coming together and spreading light, and doing it even when it’s uncomfortable. It is what it is. We have to advocate for the hostages to come back home because this is just impossible to think that they are still there. And we will prevail. There is no other way. We will prevail. But the only way to do it, is by being united.”
Herzog concluded by telling viewers that it is the “highest priority” in Israel to secure the return of the hostages. “We must fight back, we must not give up, we must show our strengths and we must be together as much as we can,” he said.
The post Gal Gadot Says She’s Optimistic Jewish People ‘Will Prevail’ Against Antisemitism in Aftermath of Oct. 7 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.