No. 50: Gal Gadot, Michael Rapaport, Noa Tishby, Eden Golan: Defending Israel with charm

Gal Gadot, Michael Rapaport, and Noa Tishby - Defending Israel with charm

Three very different entertainment industry personalities – Gal Gadot, Michael Rapaport, and Noa Tishby – became Israel’s most outspoken defenders on social media this year.

Gadot, known for her role as Wonder Woman, is the biggest Hollywood star ever to emerge from Israel, and she used her considerable influence – she has 108 million followers on Instagram – to show her grief for the victims of the October 7 massacre by Hamas and to spotlight the ongoing plight of the hostages in Gaza. While so many actors shied away from making any statement about the war, she put it front and center, pouring her heart out and raising awareness.

Rapaport, an actor/comedian known for his bluntness, made Israel the center of his life throughout the past year, visiting several times. He spent time with the hostage families and tirelessly used his tough-talking, politically incorrect New Yorker persona to combat antisemitism and anti-Israel hate online. He appeared twice on Eretz Nehederet (Wonderful Country) – Israel’s SNL – first in a Harry Potter-inspired sketch and then in a bitterly funny skit in which he pretended to host the Oscars that excoriated Hollywood bigs for ignoring the plight of the hostages. He got plenty of laughs, but even more respect.

Noa Tishby, a US-based Israeli actress-turned-activist and author, found a way to amplify her already strong voice, speaking out online to put the war into perspective and using her charm, wit, and beauty to explain the conflict. Together with retired American football player and commentator Emmanuel Acho, she published a new book, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew, which demystifies the history of antisemitism all over the world. No matter what the haters said, Tishby stood her ground – and ours– by responding graciously and making defending Israel fun and sexy.

Eden Golan - Representing Israel on the world stage amid war as the 2024 Eurovision rep 

Israeli-born, Russia-raised Eden Golan represented Israel in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, as the nation mourned post-October 7. As the world rooted against her, Golan remained poised in the face of fear, knowing that the people of Israel and the Jewish people as a whole were standing behind her.

A year after Israel’s Noa Kirel placed third in the competition with her performance of “Unicorn” on the Liverpool, UK-based stage in 2023, Golan performed her heart out in a city deemed one of the most antisemitic in the world: Malmo, Sweden. In Malmo, when out in public, she wore a wig and traveled with heightened security. She rehearsed with people shouting “boo!” in preparation for the expected reaction from the crowds of vehemently anti-Israel protesters.

Golan was born in Kfar Saba on October 5, 2003, to parents from the former Soviet Union. She and her family relocated to Moscow for her father’s job when she was a child. It was there that Golan began competing in musical competitions, including the 2015 Russian selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. She scored just below the competition’s winner, according to IMBD.

The following year, she performed at New Wave, a competition in Crimea, in a duet alongside musician Nyusha.Her family returned to Israel nearly two years ago, and she immediately jumped back into competing and performing here. She participated in the second season finale of Israel’s I Can See Your Voice in 2023 but was eliminated in the first round.

Like every other Israeli, her world changed forever two days after her birthday. Just a month later, a contestant who had competed for the spot she earned lost his life in battle in the Gaza Strip. This only inspired Golan to give the competition her best shot possible in his memory.

In preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation again decided to select the country’s representative for the competition through cooperation with the Keshet 12 channel and Rising Star. Golan won all stages of the show, performing Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” and Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” for the final. She ultimately won both the jury and the public vote and was selected to represent Israel in the contest.

In interviews ahead of May’s competition, Golan said that this year’s song contest “wasn’t just another Eurovision.” And it certainly wasn’t. Never before had thousands of artists called for the European Broadcasting Union, the body that runs Eurovision, to ban Israel from competing. Following the EBU’s refusal to ban Israel, these artists called for a complete boycott of the contest due to Israel’s presence.

Before, during, and after the competition, the Israeli delegation and fans attending the contest faced serious threats. If it were just another Eurovision, the Shin Bet head, Ronen Bar, would not have gone to Malmo to oversee the security arrangements for the Israeli delegation, nor would the Israeli government have issued travel warnings for Israelis attending the event. Multiple reports indicate that the Israeli delegation, traveling in a motorcade with blacked-out windows akin to heads of state, was under the protection of 100 Swedish police officers. Golan and her entourage were advised to remain in their hotel rooms when not performing.

Still, the spritely singer did not let the haters get her down or keep her from making the most of her experience.Golan had to go with the flow, particularly after multiple sets of her submitted lyrics for the initial version of “Hurricane,” originally titled “October Rain,” were rejected for allegedly being “too political.”So, what's next for Golan?

In an interview with Ynet, the pop star revealed that she was preparing for her army service. As a returning resident, she would serve, but she had postponed her call-up in her second year back in Israel from Moscow due to her Eurovision participation.

At 21, this native Israeli is enlisting a bit older than a typical IDF recruit. Most of her peers are already being discharged, but she said that she understands the utmost importance of serving her country. “I believe serving your country is vital, especially in today’s reality,” she told Ynet earlier this month. “Even if it means being more well-known and older than the other recruits. I really hope to serve as a singer, performing for soldiers on bases, visiting those who protect us, and bringing them some joy. I get chills just thinking about it.”

Golan is preparing for basic training, which will not strip her of her iconic colored hair streak or glamorous nails that are part of her identity and not just her stage presence. “I promise you, I can do everything with these nails! Absolutely everything. Wash dishes, put on necklaces, wear earrings, and even handle a weapon,” she told Ynet.Eden Golan will go down in history as a person who brought hope and light to Israel, serving as a model for Jews in a troubling time.

Hannah Brown contributed to this story.