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‘Snow White’ Star Rachel Zegler Declares ‘Free Palestine’ While Promoting Film Also Starring Gal Gadot
Rachel Zegler attends the 49th People’s Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California, US, Feb. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Actress Rachel Zegler declared her support for a “Free Palestine” this week while promoting her new film, the live-action remake of the 1937 Disney classic “Snow White” that also stars Israeli actress Gal Gadot in the role of the Evil Queen.
Despite the fact that Zegler’s leading co-star in the film is a former soldier in the Israel Defense Forces and an avid supporter of her home country, the Golden Globe-winning actress — who will also star in a new Broadway production of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” — did not hesitate to publicly share her support for the Palestinian cause.
Three days after the trailer for the new “Snow White” film was released, and has since racked up over 6 million views on YouTube, Zegler tweeted on Monday, “i love you all so much! thank you for the love and for 120m views on our trailer in just 24 hours! what a whirlwind. i am in the thick of rehearsals for romeo + juliet so i’m gonna get outta here. bye for now [sic].”
In a separate post, she added: “and always remember, free palestine [sic].”
Photo: Screenshot
Zegler’s pro-Palestinian tweet has garnered 5.5 million views and almost 50,000 shares since being posted. The post on X has also attracted hundreds of comments from pro-Israel supporters, who criticized the tweet as well as Zegler’s “backstabbing” and lack of support for her Israeli co-star. Some social media users asked Zegler if she had the audacity to say “Free Palestine” to Gadot’s face while others chastised the Walt Disney Company for even hiring Zegler to play the title character in the upcoming “Snow White” film.
“Free Disney of Rachel Zegler,” said one social media user. Another wrote to Zegler, “If you mean free from Hamas, I agree.”
“Good to know you share the same ideology as the man who tried to murder a Jew in NY. He screamed free palestine when he stabbed a Jew,” an X user wrote in response to Zegler’s tweet. Another added, “Hey, ‘Snow White’, it must be tough to be outshined by the beauty of Wonder Woman, while being so much uglier inside.” One X user sarcastically said, “Wow you’re such a ‘team player’. Way to support your cast mate.”
A user on X that drew attention to Disney tweeted: “Disney have [sic] an interesting marketing strategy for Snow White. It co-stars Israeli Gal Gadot, making sure Israel-haters will boycott it, and Israel-hater Rachel Zegler, making sure pro-Israelis will be loathe to watch it. Is there some way to alienate neutral viewers too?”
Gadot has not directly responded to Zegler’s tweet, but on Tuesday, she shared on her Instagram Story a quote by Martin Luther King Jr.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Gadot added, “Only love can truly save the world.”
Photo: Screenshot
The post ‘Snow White’ Star Rachel Zegler Declares ‘Free Palestine’ While Promoting Film Also Starring Gal Gadot 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.