It is hard to beat celebrating the final night of Hanukkah with “Wonder Woman” — but that is exactly what Noa Tishby is doing on Wednesday, with Gal Gadot lighting the menorah alongside the best-selling author as she concludes her #BringOnTheLight campaign.
The campaign aims to highlight both the joy and resilience that have sustained the Jewish people for thousands of years.
Watch it below:
Gadot follows a number of other stars who have already celebrated the holiday this year with Tishby. The series kicked off with Gwyneth Paltrow lighting the menorah on the first night of Hanukkah, before Mila Kunis, Mayim Bialik, Iliza Shlesinger, Van Jones, Cindy Crawford, and Tiffany Haddish followed suit on the following six nights.
Tishby bonded with Gadot and her husband, Jaron Varsano, over the different ways in which they celebrate Hanukkah now in the States compared to how they did previously in Israel, Gadot’s homeland. Gadot and Varsano have four daughters together, and the star actress revealed earlier this week that she suffered from a “massive blood clot” in her brain before her daughter Ori was born last March.
“We don’t have a new family tradition, but because we’re not living there in Israel, then it’s important to us to make sure we mark every night, and we celebrate it every night, and we sing the songs,” Gadot said. “And the girls are fighting on who’s going to light the menorah tonight, the hanukkiah. There’s nothing about new traditions, but it’s just preserving the traditions that we already have.”
Gadot continued: “I think that it’s very symbolic, especially nowadays where the entire world is going through different turbulence. I think that there’s something beautiful about families getting together and lighting candles, bringing light and hope. It’s fun. It’s important.”
Video of Gadot’s #BringOnTheLight appearance will be available on Tishby’s YouTube channel starting at 8:00 a.m. PT on Wednesday. A reel of Gadot’s appearance will also be available on Tishby’s Instagram and other social accounts.
Tishby is a two-time New York Times best-selling author and served as Israel’s first-ever Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and Delegitimization. She was called the “leading pro-Israel voice on U.S., TV, social media, and print” by the New York Times, and recently founded Eighteen, an institute dedicated to inspiring Jewish pride and fighting antisemitism.
“I couldn’t think of a better way to round out our #BringOnTheLight Hanukkah campaign than with Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, who truly proved herself to be a superhero this year,” Tishby said. “Sharing the final night of Hanukkah with Gal feels like the perfect way to carry the light of this holiday into the new year.”
Tishby added: “The pride that Gal, and the rest of our special guests these past eight days, brings to the Jewish people is unparalleled and we are so grateful that each of them took the time to light the Hanukkah candles with me and spread light and love this holiday season.”
Gadot has been outspoken about her love for Israel and her Jewish upbringing following Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023. She organized a screening of “Bearing Witness,” a film that showed the brutal violence of Hamas, a month after the attack. The screening, held at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles in November 2023, was marred by fighting between protestors outside the museum.
“No one thought something so horrific could happen in 2023, but through all the horror, there’s something amazing about our people—no revenge, just hope, light, and love,” Gadot said in September.
On a more optimistic note, Gadot told Tishby that she loves lighting the candles on Hanukkah because it represents a spark that can lead to significant change.
“A candle is a small thing, but one candle can light another,” Gadot said. “And I think that there is something very symbolic about its meaning.”