Superstar actress Gal Gadot took time out from her acting and modeling schedule to take part in an event commemorating the Holocaust organized by Zikaron Basalon_global, just ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, and she posted clips from it on her Instagram story.
Zikaron Basalon_global is the international branch of Zikaron Basalon, a group that helps people organize meetings of Holocaust survivors and their descendants with people who want to listen and learn about the tragedy. Zikaron Basalon was founded in Israel in 2011 and millions of people have taken part in events it has helped to organize.
In the clips Gadot posted, participants sing Leonard Cohen’s hymn of healing, “Hallelujah,” together and an elderly woman speaks to Gal Gadot about her narrow escape from death in the Holocaust. The woman recalled she told a Nazi guard, “Let me go,” and he allowed her to escape. Gadot asks her how old she was and she responds that she was 13.
The woman muses, “I want you to know that often I’ve thought about that later as I got older and that’s why I’ve developed this feeling that you cannot ever walk another person’s shoes.” She said she wondered, “If my mother had been there, would I have depended on her to try and save me? You are responsible for yourself and you have to understand what goes on in other people’s lives.” Gadot replies, “What a pivotal moment for you, that saved your life.” The woman said that her experiences have led her to the conclusion that, “Only love could save the world.”
This is not the first time Gadot has used her Instagram account to encourage Holocaust remembrance. Last year, she posted about her grandfather, Avraham Weiss, who was born in Czechoslovakia and who was sent to Auschwitz at age 13, becoming the sole survivor of his family.
Gadot has a busy schedule
It has been a busy year for Gadot, who chronicles her life and career on her Instagram account, which recently topped 100 million followers, making hers the 37th most popular account on the platform, according a ranking by Wikipedia.
She presented a Breakthrough Prize on Saturday given to scientists changing the world, an award which is supported by Sergey Brin and Mark Zuckerberg, among others. It was a star-studded Hollywood event and other presenters included Robert Downey Jr. and Lily Collins.
She also recently appeared in an uncredited cameo as Wonder Woman in the movie, Shazam! Fury of the Gods and has seven upcoming movie and television projects listed on the Internet Movie Database. These include Heart of Stone, a Netflix movie set to be released in August, which is described as a spy thriller and which co-stars Jamie Dornan.