‘Wonder Woman’ Gal Gadot challenges Netanyahu over who Israel ‘belongs to’
Israeli actress and “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot on Monday pushed back after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country belongs only to the Jewish people.
“Love thy neighbor,” Gadot said Sunday on Instagram, as first reported by NBC News.
“It is not a matter of right or left, Arabs or Jews, secular or religious,” she added. “It is a matter of dialogue, of dialogue for peace, and of our tolerance for each other. It is our responsibility to shine hope and light for a better future for our children.”
{mosads}Gadot’s comments came after her friend and fellow actor, Rotem Sela, defended the rights of Arab Israelis in response to comments from Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev made about the role of Arab parties in Israel’s elections next month.
Netanyahu, who is seeking reelection next month, addressed Sela’s comments in an Instagram post of his own.
“Israel is not a state for all its citizens. According to the nation-state law that we passed, Israel is the state of the Jewish people — and belongs to them alone,” Netanyahu wrote.
He cited the approval of a controversial nation-state law last year, which downgraded Arabic from an official language and declared only Jewish people have the right of self-determination in the country.
Gadot’s clash with Netanyahu comes as the prime minister is under strong legal scrutiny ahead of his reelection bid.
He is reportedly expected to face fraud charges related to his relationship with the owners of a top Israeli news site. Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing.
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