Speaking at the President’s Conference for a Shared Israeli Future at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Israeli actress Gal Gadot revealed that she and her family are building a new home in Israel.
In a candid conversation in Hebrew with Michal Herzog, Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s wife, Gadot stressed that despite living abroad, “my heart is always here.”
“My husband and I are building our home in Israel,” she announced, without specifying where. “If there’s one Zionist thing to do right now, it’s to build a home in Israel.”
Gadot and her husband, Israeli entrepreneur Yaron Varsano, who have four daughters, divide their time between Israel and the United States, where they maintain a home in California.
The actress, best known internationally for portraying Wonder Woman, said it has become increasingly difficult to be an Israeli abroad amid growing polarization and hostility toward the Jewish state following the war against Iran and its proxies.
“It’s become very complicated to be an Israeli in the world today,” Gadot said. “Especially after everything we’ve been through since the war, and because of the media and social networks, which are a problem in their own right.
“I feel anger. Sometimes I feel fear. And there’s also great frustration at seeing how quickly people judge and form opinions. I wish they would amplify the voices in this room and this conference to the world, so they could see what Israel really is.”
Gadot described Israel as a country rooted in coexistence and mutual responsibility.
“I grew up with Mohammed and Ahmed,” she said, recalling her childhood in Rosh HaAyin, near Kafr Qasim, in central Israel, working alongside Arab Israelis as a teenager.
“There is mutual responsibility here. There is love here,” she said. “This is an amazing nation.”
The actress also discussed donating the full amount of her 2026 Genesis Prize award to organizations helping heal divisions within Israeli society.
Gadot reminded the audience that after announcing she would donate the entire $1 million Genesis Prize to groups focused on healing and strengthening Israeli society, additional contributions from other donors doubled the amount, and she voiced hope that the total would double again.
“It was important to me that the prize money go to organizations helping with healing and rebuilding Israeli society,” she said.
The conference, convened by the Israeli president ahead of Israel’s 80th anniversary in 2018, focused on his vision of rebuilding Israeli society, encouraging dialogue across political and social divides and moving “from crisis to repair.”
It brought together some 1,400 nonprofit figures, social entrepreneurs, community heads, grassroots leaders and youth leaders to consider the country’s future as it grapples with polarization and division, the President’s Office said..
In her conversation with Gadot, Michal Herzog talked about the emotional toll war has taken on Israeli society over the past two-and-a-half years, describing the presidential couple’s meetings with bereaved families, wounded soldiers, hostage families and evacuated communities from Israel’s north and south.
“Our home became their home,” she said of the families of the Hamas hostages, none of whom remains in Gaza.
Despite the pain, she said, encounters with Israelis across the country continue to provide them with strength and hope. “We truly have an extraordinary people,” she said. “Meeting these people gives us energy and tremendous strength.”
‘Time to Talk’
In his address, President Herzog discussed the theme of the conference, “Time to Talk,” issuing a call for greater national dialogue and compromise in the face of growing political tensions in Israel.
Referring to the issue of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pardon request, he said, “It is important for me to explain why I am calling for dialogue toward an agreement and why I am calling for discussions toward a settlement.”
He added, “On these weighty issues, which tear the heart of Israeli society and divide it, the right path is to reach understandings and agreements wherever possible.”
Herzog also warned about the wave of antisemitism facing Jewish communities abroad. “We must remember that we have brothers and sisters across the ocean who are going through a hell of unimaginable antisemitism,” he said. “They look to us with worry and anxiety and want us to be an anchor of stability and responsibility.”
He urged Israelis to lower tensions as the country approaches another election cycle later this year.
“When there are fuel fumes in the air and we are entering elections, the answer is here in this tremendous movement of ‘Time to Talk,’” the president said. “I want to hear your pain. I want to understand that there is a tremendous social evolution in Israeli society.”
In her address, Becky Caspi, director-general of the Jewish Federations of North America’s Israel office, stressed the importance of ties between Israel and Diaspora Jewry.
“Israel’s shared future will not only be built in Jerusalem, Sderot, or Kiryat Shmona, but alongside Jewish communities in New York, Toronto, Miami, and Los Angeles,” Caspi said. “The partnership between Israel and North American Jewry is a strategic asset that goes far beyond economic support. It is a relationship that bolsters our resilience, our common values, and our shared future.”
She pledged, “In the coming years, Jewish Federations will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel—in recovery, in growth, and in strengthening the bonds with Jewish communities in the United States and Canada.”
The conference featured panels, lectures and public discussions focused on strengthening Israeli society following more than two years of war and political upheaval.
One highlight was a performance by Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, who finished second in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song “New Day Will Rise.”
Before thrilling the audience with her singing, Raphael thanked Israelis for their support and spoke about the importance of unity, healing, hope and resilience during this difficult period for the country.
Despite the pain Israelis have endured since Oct. 7, 2023, she said, “a new day will rise,” echoing the message of the song she performed.
