Gal Gadot awarded honorary doctorate from Israeli university

The honorary doctorate was presented during a gala marking seven decades of Bar-Ilan University.

By World Israel News Staff

Actress Gal Gadot accepted an honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan University on Monday evening, using her acceptance speech at a gala celebrating the institution’s 70th anniversary to praise the university and reaffirm her connection to Israel.

Gadot, one of Israel’s most internationally recognized figures, rose to global fame for her portrayal of Wonder Woman in several action films. Although much of her professional life takes place outside Israel, she emphasized that the Jewish state will always be her home.

Other prominent recipients of honorary doctorates from Bar-Ilan included U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff and Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar.

During her speech, Gadot addressed what she described as a growing disconnect between the Israel she knows and the way the country is portrayed internationally. She spoke of Israel as a place where people care for one another, contrasting that experience with narratives in the international media that focus on violence and occupation.

“As an Israeli and a Jewish woman working internationally, I feel the distance between the home I know and the way we’re sometimes portrayed from the outside,” Gadot said.

“I know many of you feel the same way. No matter how far I travel, Israel’s always my home.”

Gadot also highlighted what she sees as a defining Israeli characteristic: the instinct to assist others, including people one does not personally know.

She described this impulse as the “instinct to reach out and help a complete stranger in a moment of need…I can’t say it any other place in the world other than in Israel.”

Her remarks came as Israel continues to face intense international criticism, and as prominent Israelis working abroad have found themselves at the center of political debates over the country and its policies.

Gadot has faced significant backlash over her Israeli identity following the Hamas-led October 7 massacre, including death threats. Her past service in the Israel Defense Forces has also made her a target of anti-Israel activists, many of whom have called for boycotts of films in which she appears.