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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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Arizona Man Charged With Threatening Synagogues to Take Out ‘Jew Government’
Kevin Charles Pyles, 32, Glendale, Arizona, man accused of threatening violence against Jews. Photo: Screenshot.
Law enforcement officials in Arizona have arraigned a man from city of Glendale who is accused of threatening to commit antisemitic hate crimes and mass casualty events, according to local media reports.
Over four months, Kevin Charles Pyles, 32, declared to his social media followers that he hates Jews, people of color, and the state of Israel, adding that he believes the US is a “Jew government.” As Pyles’ delusions grew, so did his ambitions, and before long threatened to detonate explosives outside the local Sha’arei Shalom Congregation synagogue by shooting propane tanks.
According to a CBS affiliate, the disturbing tirades caught the attention of the Secure Community Network (SCN) — a nonprofit organization which partners with law enforcement to promote safety and thwart imminent threats to the Jewish community — which reported Pyles to Phoenix police.
“This is very painful. It’s not right to do that,” Rabbi Pinhas Nisanov of Sha’arei Shalom Congregation told KTVK-3TV in a statement. “We have to respect each, and each other, even other religions.”
In another statement to the outlet, Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz of Arizona Jews for Justice said, “Hatred is growing and antisemitism is growing, and we all have to call it out wherever we see it. Wherever we see stereotypes and bias and hate, we have to call it out.”
Antisemitic activity across the country continues to challenge a once ironclad consensus that the US is a safe haven for the Jewish people.
On Monday, a telecenter operator who was, until Tuesday, employed by Fidelity Investments launched a volley of antisemitic insults at a Jewish journalist via social media after learning that her children attend a summer camp which fosters pride in Zionism.
“F—k you and f—k your kid who goes to Nazi summer camp!” Danielle Gordon, the now-former employee, wrote to Bethany Mandel, author and contributor to the “Mom Wars” Substack. “Free Palestine from you sick f—ks!”
The exchange began when Mandel publicly discussed the presence of a paraglider over the camp’s property which, due to lingering trauma caused by the memory of the use of paragliders in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel — which preceded an explosion of antisemitic incidents across the US — appeared to pose an imminent security threat. Gordon seemingly took umbrage at Mandel’s concern for Jewish life and the lives of her children, and hastily fired off the messages from an account which listed her legal name.
“I found it troubling that she sent such antisemitic vitriol when she’s just a working class, college educated white woman living in Denver — that is how far this rot has spread,” Mandel told The Algemeiner on Monday after her sharing of Gordon’s messages amassed over a million views on X. “Antisemitism has become normative discourse for people of her demographic.”
Mandel continued, “That word, Zionist, triggered her very much, and she had no qualms about coming at me, coming at my kids … There should be consequences for talking like this.”
This incident came just weeks after another sudden outburst of hatred against Jews.
Earlier this month, Eden Deckerhoff — a female student at Florida State University (FSU) — allegedly assaulted a Jewish male classmate at the Leach Student Recreation Center after noticing his wearing apparel issued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
“F—k Israel, Free Palestine. Put it [the video] on Barstool FSU. I really don’t give a f—k,” the woman said before shoving the man, according to video taken by the victim. “You’re an ignorant son of a b—h.” Deckerhoff has since been charged with misdemeanor battery.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Deckerhoff has denied assaulting the student when questioned by investigators, telling them, “No I did not shove him at all; I never put my hands on him.” However, law enforcement charged her with misdemeanor battery and described the incident in court documents as seen in viral footage of the incident, acknowledging that Deckerhoff “appears to touch [the man’s] left shoulder.” Despite her denial, the Democrat noted, she has offered to apologize.
Days later, an unknown person or group graffitied swastikas and other hateful messages on the grounds of the Israeli-American Council’s (IAC) national headquarters in Los Angeles, underscoring the severity of the antisemitism crisis in the US.
“F—k Jews,” one cluster of graffiti said.
“BDS,” the message added, referring to the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel.
The wave of hate follows a pattern of year-on-year surges in acts of anti-Jewish bigotry.
In 2024, according to newly released FBI statistics, hate crimes perpetrated against Jews increased by 5.8 percent to 1,938, the largest total recorded in over 30 years of the FBI’s counting them. Jewish American groups noted that this surge, which included 178 assaults, is being experienced by a demographic group which constitutes just 2 percent of the US population.
A striking 69 percent of all religion-based hate crimes that were reported to the FBI in 2024 targeted Jews, with 2,041 out of 2,942 total such incidents being antisemitic in nature. Muslims were targeted the next highest amount as the victims of 256 offenses, or about 9 percent of the total.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Netanyahu Says Israel to Begin Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations to End War, Release Hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had directed the immediate initiation of negotiations for the release of all hostages in Gaza and the conclusion of the war there on terms acceptable to Israel.
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Turkish Ports Raise New Barriers to Israel-Linked Ships, Sources Say
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not seen) at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, May 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Turkish port authorities have begun informally requiring shipping agents to provide letters declaring that vessels are not linked to Israel and not carrying military or hazardous cargo bound for the country, according to two shipping sources.
The move is another step Turkey has taken against Israel after it last year severed trade with the country, worth $7 billion annually, over its war in Gaza with Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
The sources said the harbor master’s office had verbally instructed port agents to provide written assurances, adding that there was no official circular on the issue.
One of the sources said the instruction applied to ports across Turkey.
The second source said vessels arriving directly from Israel or departing to Israeli ports would no longer be permitted to dock at Turkish ports, according to information provided by the port authority of the northwestern province of Kocaeli.
Turkish-flagged ships will also be prohibited from calling at Israeli ports, according to the source.
The transport ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move could further complicate shipments to Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have targeted ships in the Red Sea since 2023 in what they call an act of solidarity with Palestinians.
NATO member Turkey has fiercely criticized Israel over its attacks on Gaza and called it a genocide against the Palestinians, a charge Israel denies.
The new guarantee letters should state that vessel owners, managers, and operators have no ties to Israel, and that certain types of cargo, including explosives and radioactive materials or military equipment, are not on board en route to Israel, the second source said.