'Wonder Woman' Is a Big Deal for Israel, Too

By Dustin Rowles | Celebrity | May 31, 2017 |

By Dustin Rowles | Celebrity | May 31, 2017 |

After 19 straight superhero movies starring men, Wonder Woman is about to change things when it opens this weekend, and if the reviews are any indication, it’s going to be a huge weekend. While Wonder Woman is a huge victory for female moviegoers, we should also note that it’s a pretty fucking big deal for Israel, too.

Indeed, Israelis are freaking out; for any small country to have a huge blockbuster movie starring a home-grown talent is a huge deal, especially when all the women from Wonder Woman’s home planet have an Israeli accent (it’s actually a Themysciran, which should sound like a classic Greek accent, but since Gadot has a heavy Israeli accent, the Themysciran accent bears a strong resemblance). While Natalie Portman is still the most famous Israeli-born actress, she left the country for the United States when she was very young. Gadot, on the other hand, was born and raised in Israel, served in the Israel Defense Forces, and her grandparents are Holocaust survivors. She’s a lifer: She won Miss Israel in 2004; her husband is Israeli, and her two children were born there, too (yes, Gal Gadot has two children).

In other words, it’s a big deal. So big that one of the most famous buildings in Israel — the Tel Aviv Towers — honored Gadot over the weekend with this.

“We are proud of you, Gal Gadot,” the first tower reads, while the second tower features the phrase, “Our Wonder Woman.”

Or as someone on Facebook posted, “בר רפאלי..לא לכעוס,” which is roughly translated as “Bar Refaeli … Don’t be mad.”

It’ll be interesting to see if Wonder Woman breaks the opening weekend record in Israel, which is currently $3.9 million by The Fate of the Furious, a franchise that once starred Gal Gadot.