Gal Gadot became the first Israeli actress to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
“I’m just a girl from a town in Israel and could have never imagined such a moment,” Gadot said to the cheering crowd. "This star will remind me that with hard work and passion and some faith, anything is possible."
In Hebrew, Gadot added that she loves her family, and she thanked them for always being there for her.
According to The New York Post, both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel supporters attended the event, with pro-Palestinian protesters shouting against Israel before Gadot took the stage.
A spokesperson for the LAPD told the NYP that officers “were assigned to the location, provided crowd control, and kept the peace.” Despite the disruption, “there were no arrests.”
The ceremony took place ahead of Disney's Saturday premiere of Snow White, in which Gadot stars. The premiere will be scaled back due to controversies surrounding the film, The Jerusalem Post previously reported.
In an interview with Variety on Tuesday, Gadot said spoke about the difficulty of being a visible Israeli in the current climate, especially given her outspoken support for her home country.
“There is a challenge for people to speak on social media because there is so much hate going on and so many bots and so many angry people that are looking for a cause,” Gadot said.
"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."
“I am all about humanity,” she added, “and I felt like I had to advocate for the hostages.”
“I am praying for better days for all. I want everybody to have good life and prosperity, and the ability to raise their children in a safe environment.”
Support for Israel
Since October 7, Gadot has been vocal about her support for Israel and against fighting antisemitism.
In early March, the Israeli actress spoke at the Anti-Defamation League’s “Never Is Now” conference in New York, where she was presented with an award.
“Isn’t it crazy that just saying that [I’m Jewish], just expressing such a simple fact about who I am, feels like a controversial statement?” she said.
When referencing Oct 7, Gadot said she never could have imagined a day of such death and destruction of Jews, but also the response that came with it.
“Never did I imagine that on the streets of the United States and different cities around the world, we would see people not condemning Hamas, but celebrating, justifying, and cheering on a massacre of Jews.”