Gal Gadot is No Wonder Woman

I still remember all the hype and excitement surrounding the release of the new Wonder Woman movie starring none other than Gal Gadot back in 2017, and then once again back in the cursed year of 2020. And now, I have the pleasure of relieving the hype one more time hopefully for the new release in 2022. It was a much-anticipated film and the promotion leading up to the first screening was all around me - on social media, on billboards, on posters, and on merchandise. The continuous, over the top marketing has continued to carry on throughout the franchise.

But back to 2017: Wonder Woman had been a popular DC comic and people were finally getting a movie from it. I still remember the conversations surrounding the movie and what its release meant for young girls. Hollywood was being praised for finally giving a superhero lead to a woman, and how much feminism has progressed in Hollywood and in broader society. Among the loud buzz of excitement and cheer there was a small voice that could only be heard by those who took a step back and looked at the reality behind the materialist mask. That small voice was the voice of Palestine. To put it very bluntly, Gal Gadot is a Zionist. She was/is a settler colonialist in the occupied Palestine, and she is a proud member of the notorious Israeli Defence Force. The IDF is a fascist, war-mongering criminal, terrorist organisation that upholds and enables apartheid, genocide, ethnic cleansing and the brutal Zionist occupation. She participated in the 2006 Lebanon war - a war responsible for the death of 1.5 thousand Lebanese civilians and immense damage to Lebanese infrastructure. In 2014 Israel launched a 50-day attack on Gaza that resulted in the massacre of 2.5 thousand Palestinians by bombing schools, hospitals, libraries, markets, beaches and houses etc. Gal Gadot being very well aware of the slaughter happening by the IDF, decided to cheerlead them for it. Despite absolutely no evidence of her tale being true, she wrote,

“I am sending my love and prayers to my fellow Israeli citizens. Especially to all the boys and girls who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas, who are hiding like cowards behind women and children... We shall overcome!!! Shabbat Shalom! #weareright #freegazafromhamas #stopterror #coexistance #loveidf”

It’s not just the blatant crimes against humanity that IDF is responsible for, but their ongoing

Words by Habibah Jaghoori GAL GADOT IS NO WONDER WOMAN.

normalisation of it. They disguise themselves as an army protecting their homeland. They disguise themselves as noble and moral. I wonder what is so noble about soldiers armed to the teeth shooting down people protesting? Or the beating up of, kidnapping of, and killing of unarmed and innocent children? Of bulldozing homes, of separating families, of harassing women, of recording people you have shot bleeding to death and mocking them? I wonder what is so noble about apartheid, occupation and imperialism?

It pains me that Gal Gadot was given a platform and she was praised for it. It pains me that she was given such a platform that portrayed her as a hero and as a saviour. This is a big slap on the face to all Palestinians and to anyone that has a heartfelt connection to the resistance and to justice. Casting Gal Gadot for that role was a very intentional act from Hollywood and to that I say shame:

Shame on the people that worked for this to happen. Shame on the people that did not fight against this. Shame on the people that decided that they want to separate the movie from politics, as if the whole casting and producing was not an act of political warfare anyway. Shame on the people that defended this, and shame on the people that knew it was wrong but decided their entertainment is above a very real and a very aching struggle.

Something that still truly baffles me is the fact that feminism has seen this as a win - white feminism for that matter. Is your feminism really represented by a woman with blood on her hands and is part of one of the biggest oppressions in human history who now has a platform and can act like a protagonist? Is that That’s pathetic.

The implications of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman may not be obvious to some but for me it sends a very clear message. It shows me that the war is a soft war as much as an assault-based war. It shows me that Hollywood is still racist, corrupt and elite. It shows me that people are easily manipulated, and that people do not know or even understand the Israeli attacks on Palestinian livelihood. It shows me that class solidarity is above all else with these people and that human life means nothing when the dollar is at stake.

Yes, there are some complaints and backlash over the casting choice, but this rightful and legitimate criticism is being invalidated as ‘irrational’ and ‘the inability to just enjoy a movie’ and ‘there is always some problem.’ If we don’t have the podium to express disagreement, concern and protest then we have nothing.

I understand that Zionism is the product of capitalism, and imperial/colonial activity is late stage capitalism, and I understand that Zionism would not survive without capitalism and ergo the struggle against Zionism is the struggle for all.

We need to be unafraid to call out imposter feminism and fake social progress when we see it. We need to boycott movies, actors and events that normalise vicious systems. We have to resist the increasing overlap of war criminals with the entertainment sector and social activities. We can’t let these people win. Don’t watch Wonder Woman. Leave a bad review and keep an eye out for the next Palestine protest.