Gal Gadot's Most Controversial Moments

As one of Israel's biggest ever exports, Gal Gadot's success in the States has been a source of pride for citizens of the country — but in recent years, her popularity among politicians at home has waned somewhat. In 2019, the movie star threw her considerable weight behind actress and reality TV host Rotem Sela, a friend of hers who was feuding with the Israeli government over Arab minority rights. 

According to BBC News, Sela spoke out after Israel's Culture Minister warned protest voters not to accidentally elect Arab MPs. "When the hell will someone in this government convey to the public that Israel is a state of all its citizens and that all people were created equal, and that even the Arabs and the Druze and the LGBTs and — shock — the leftists are human," Sela said on her Instagram Stories. Before long, Benjamin Netanyahu had replied with his own Instagram post. "Dear Rotem," the Israeli Prime Minster wrote. "Israel is not a state of all its citizens ... Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people — and only it."

Despite the fact that she's backed (and taken part in) Israeli government military campaigns in the past, Gadot wouldn't side with them this time. "This isn't a matter of right or left, Jew or Arab, secular or religious," she wrote, urging everyone to start a "dialogue for peace and equality and of our tolerance of one towards the other."

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