Israeli actor Swell Ariel Or has revealed that she swapped her goal of Hollywood stardom for advocacy of the Jewish state, after antisemitism made her feel unwelcome in the industry.
Most famous for the Netflix show The Beauty Queen Of Jerusalem, Or opened up to Ynet about her experience in Hollywood as a Jewish Israeli who served in the IDF.
She said: “There is a subtle kind of antisemitism. In today’s politically correct environment, directors, producers and casting directors won’t say it outright.
"But before an audition, they Google me, see that I served in Unit 8200 and founded a fund for reservists, and form opinions about me before we even meet.”
She spoke about one example of being made to feel like she doesn’t belong because of her nationality. “I was at a social event where, as soon as people heard I was Israeli, the host, a very prominent figure in Hollywood, told me, ‘It would have been easier for everyone if you had gone to Uganda’.
“I found myself explaining our history to him. The only person who defended me was a Lebanese fashion designer who happened to be there.
“At another audition, I mentioned that friends of mine had been murdered at the Nova Music Festival, and their reaction told me everything. There was no empathy. After about 30 seconds, they said, ‘Thank you, we don’t want to waste your time. It’s just not the role for you’.”
But instead of hiding her identity, Or, who said she is “proud” of being Israeli, decided to lean into it and become an activist.
“I began speaking at events across the US to raise money for the fund and quickly realised how little many people understood about who we are and what we are going through. I do it independently, without any funding or payment.”
At one such event, she appeared alongside Captain Karni Gez, commander of the IDF’s first all-female tank company, which fought on October 7.
“I play her in Ayelet Menahemi’s film The Tankists: Wild Company, Or told Ynet. “Together we told the story of her heroism and that of the women who fought alongside her, each from a different perspective. I was proud to represent my country.”
Or has also fundraised to help IDF reservists who live in other countries and who have had to travel to Israel to help, often paying for flights themselves.
“It didn’t change the desire, but it changed the goal, because I realised that the cultural elite I wanted to be part of wasn’t what I thought it was,” she went on.
“I discovered what modern antisemitism looks like in intellectual circles. It isn’t like it was in the past, through violence, but through exclusion, a lack of empathy, and a lack of respect.
“Now my most important goal is to show the real Israel to the world through advocacy.”
But Or isn’t worried about the possibility that her activism could make her even more of a target in the acting industry because she was one anyway, simply by being from Israel.
“Even when I don’t talk about Israel, I encounter antisemitism,” she said. “Just being Israeli and having served in the IDF is enough for some people to view us differently. It hurts, but I told myself, ‘If I can’t change that, I can at least try to do something positive’.”
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