Gal Gadot and David Schwimmer encourage Hollywood to condemn antisemitism: “I wish you would speak out”
Gal Gadot and David Schwimmer appeared at the Anti-Defamation League’s Never Is Now conference in New York on March 4th to condemn antisemitism.
Schwimmer, who is Jewish, has spoken out regularly about antisemitism. For example, he recently criticised Elon Musk for allowing Kanye West to spout antisemitism on his social media platform X. However, Schwimmer believes that the silence of his peers on the subject is deafening.
“Plenty of people I respect, even some of my heroes in entertainment, music and sports, have chosen to keep a low profile and sit this one out,” Schwimmer shared. “So many have chosen not to say anything publicly at all. And if I can say something directly to them: I really wish you would.”
The Friends star continued: “I wish you would stand up. I wish you would speak out, because your voice would be so meaningful to your fans who love you, to your community members who need you, to folks who can use just a little solidarity right now.”
Schwimmer also admitted that his career has given him “an incredible platform” that allows his opinions “to be heard over the noise that drowns too many people out.” He added, “I believe with that privilege comes a responsibility to use my voice in moments like this, at a time of danger, bigotry, and violence.”
Schwimmer then conceded that “speaking out often comes at a cost” and “like so many others, I’ve been attacked and threatened by people I’ve never met. I’ve been abandoned by people I thought were friends and by organisations I thought were allies, but I’ve also found amazing moments of meaning and solidarity.”
At the same ceremony, Gal Gadot was handed ADL’s International Leadership Award and delivered a speech at the New York event. Gadot, who recently appeared as a presenter at the Academy Awards, began by stating, “My name is Gal, and I am Jewish. And we have had enough of Jew hatred.”
She continued: “This is a time when many of us in the Jewish community have had to find our voice and confront the hatred against us, even if it’s extremely uncomfortable. However much you tried to avoid it before, even if speaking up wasn’t really your thing, none of us can ignore the explosion of Jew hatred around the world anymore.”
The Wonder Woman star also used her speech to highlight the situation regarding the 59 remaining hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th, stating, “We have to bring them home.”
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