Gal Gadot criticised for not presenting Oscar to Palestinian documentary maker

nme.com:

Gal Gadot’s presenting at the Oscars has sparked speculation online, after the Wonder Woman star switched categories for an unknown reason.The Israeli actor presented Best Visual Effects alongside her Snow White co-star Rachel Zegler at the awards on Sunday (March 2) in Los Angeles.

However, she had originally been listed to present Best Documentary Feature, which Samuel L. Jackson and Selena Gomez ended up presenting.Neither The Academy or Gadot have given a reason for the apparent switch, but fans on Twitter have a theory that it may have been to do with the eventual winner, No Other Land.The film was made by Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers, showing the destruction of the occupied West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham.The acceptance speech for the film was widely praised as it called for peace and criticised America’s foreign policy.Gadot is an outspoken supporter of Israel amid their conflict in Palestine, having served as part of the Israeli Defence Force in the ‘00s.

In 2003, she joined several celebrities in signing an open letter voicing their support for Israel amid the ongoing Hamas war.Some posts sarcastically wondered why the switch was made.