Luminaries, much support and protests at Gal Gadot Hollywood star ceremony

The mood at the tented, star-studded ceremony, held on Hollywood Boulevard outside of the El Capitan Theatre, was celebratory, and Hollywood icons heaped praise on her.

Vin Diesel, who co-starred with Gadot in several “Fast & Furious” franchise films, spoke during the ceremony of her “strength and empathy.”

Hollywood director Patty Jenkins, who captured the actress from behind the camera in Gadot’s breakthrough film “Wonder Woman,” said the Israeli star, and people like her, “have left an indelible mark on the art form.”

“Not only have we worked together hundreds of days, but we’ve also become super-close family friends,” Jenkins said. “We’ve been through all kinds of highs, lows. It’s been absolute bliss.”

Gadot was the “most loving, most heroic person on the set,” the director said.

Steve Nissen, president and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, told attendees that Gadot is “one of Hollywood’s most engaging and sought-after talents.”

The ceremony took place three days before the release of the much-anticipated film “Snow White, a live-action musical remake of the Disney animated 1937 classic. Gadot plays the Evil Queen in the new film, which opens in theaters on March 21.

Marc Webb, who directed the new movie, and Marc Platt, who produced it, attended the ceremony, as did Israeli actress Shira Haas and Sarah Zurell, chair of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

As colleagues and others fawned over Gadot, protesters could be heard from across the street, and a small, yet loud and rowdy, group of anti-Israel protesters could be heard from the north side of Hollywood Boulevard, expressing its displease that the city was recognizing an Israeli.

Some controversy has surrounded the Disney film ahead of its release, with reported “tension” between Gadot and Rachel Zegler, who plays Snow White in the film and who has advocated for a “free Palestine.”

Gadot attended the Tuesday ceremony with her husband Jaron “Yaron” Varsano and their four daughters. (It was, she noted in her remarks, her daughter Maya’s 8th birthday.)

‘Proud to be Jewish and an Israeli’

She didn’t address her Jewish identity in her remarks but spoke warmly about her upbringing in Israel.

“To all the young women out there, especially young girls watching, if a girl from Rosh Ha’ayin can get a star on the Hollywood Boulevard,” Gadot said, “anything is possible.”

Across the street, protesters mingled with a costumed Spiderman, a man dressed like Jesus and gentlemen in top hats selling star maps—typical fare for the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue on a weekday afternoon.

There were also peaceful onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of Gadot from across the street, where a heavy police presence on a closed-down Hollywood Boulevard monitored demonstrators.

At one point, a fight broke out, and police officers chased some of the demonstrators.

Gadot, 39, was born in Petach Tikvah and served in the Israel Defense Forces. The former Miss Israel winner became a Hollywood star and household name after portraying Diana Prince—“Wonder Woman”—in the 2017 hit superhero film.

Alongside her successful movie career, she has been an unofficial ambassador for the State of Israel. In the aftermath of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, she has spoken out in support of the release of the hostages and raising awareness about a film showing Hamas’s atrocities.

“I am proud to be Jewish and an Israeli,” she said at the Anti-Defamation League “Never is Now” gathering in New York City this month.