It's a sad commentary on the state of hostilities in the Israel-Hamas war when a harmless newborn announcement post on social media from a prominent Israeli-American actress spews messages of toxicity just because of her ties to the region. But unfortunately, that's what's transpiring on the Instagram account of Gal Gadot at the moment.
Following the sweet birth announcement of her fourth child with husband Jaron Varsano — a baby girl Ori — mixed in with congratulatory messages of support are hate-filled comments aimed at Gadot's heritage.
Gadot has been outspokenly proud of her Israeli heritage, and her homeland is equally proud of her accomplishments — as Wonder Woman, Gadot is the first Israeli actress to headline a major Hollywood blockbuster.
But critics of Israel's actions in the country's war with Hamas — a war started in response to terrorist group Hamas' horrific atrocities committed in Israel on October 7th — seem to be unfairly equating Gadot's citizenship with it being open season to troll Gadot for anything she posts online, even something as benign as a birth announcement.
Commenters seem to be seizing onto Gadot's admission that “the pregnancy was not easy” as grounds to bring up the conditions for new mothers in Gaza — terrible circumstances to be sure, but Gadot's message was entirely innocuous and in no way drew any such comparison.
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Even so, a response reading, “I’m sure the pregnant Palestinian women in Gaza are having a much harder pregnancy than you did” generated more than five thousand likes as of Thursday.
Similarly, another comment reads, “I hope your baby will not face the cruelty that you wished on Palestinian babies” — falsely accusing Gal Gadot of somehow supporting the tragic loss of civilian life befalling innocent Palestinians during the war.
Gadot on social media she has called out the brutal attacks of rape and sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th and with the hostages Hamas captured. She has also publicly declared her support for Israel's right to go to war with Hamas and try to eradicate the terrorist group from Gaza. In addition, she frequently posts pictures of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas.
But these actions are being heinously conflated with supporting the worst atrocities of this war — which, it should be noted, are really the worst atrocities of any war, a fact that is curiously often ignored when Israel is involved. In any case, it's a false assumption about Gadot that is both sad and wrong. And on her birth announcement no less.
No doubt, the Israel-Hamas war has been devastating, and both sides are guilty of unforgivable acts. Anyone who thinks either side is entirely blameless in this centuries-old, incredibly complicated dispute is absurd.
But one thing here at least is straightforward and clear — no one deserves to have one of the happiest moments of their life ruined because of their heritage.
It brings to mind the type of racist rhetoric hurled at Chinese-Americans during the height of the Covid pandemic simply because of the virus' origins in China.
As one comment of support read on the vile reactions to Gadot's post, “What does Gal Gadot have to do with that?”
What indeed. Gal Gadot, and all Americans from the Middle East for that matter, deserve better.
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