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When DC announced that they were going to be making a Justice League movie and that each character would also have their own standalone movie, I rejoiced! Finally they were getting onto the train Marvel was currently steamrolling.
I'm not one of those people who choose between DC and Marvel because why would I deprive myself of loving ALL these great characters?
We're pretty big Wonder Woman fans in our house. We regularly have Justice League Action playing on TV and my 3-year-old son thinks that Wonder Woman is the "coolest guy because she has a rope!"
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When he first saw her on TV he excitedly exclaimed "Hey! That's your superhero, mommy!" because he recognised her from all my t-shirts and hoodies.
She's such a great example of feminism, showing my son that girls can be strong too despite the sexist crap my brother inadvertently rains down on him.
Wonder Woman is the only female founding member of the Justice League which is pretty amazing. Let me just give you a quick run-down on Diana Prince if you know nothing about our favourite Amazonian princess.
Hailing from the island of Themyscira, she is a powerful and strong-willed character. But she is also peace-loving and would rather use diplomacy than violence to achieve positive outcomes. She "would never seek to fight or escalate a conflict".
Quite the opposite of Miss Gadot who was a proud member of the Israeli Defence Force for two years.
But y'all, the internet does not forget and they will find your old social media posts. So when I saw this Facebook post, I was so disappointed that the woman who was playing my heroine, who stands for peace and justice thought that the relentless bombing of Palestine in 2014 was the right thing to do.
#WeAreRight she hashtagged her picture.
I'm sorry, I just find it a tiny bit hypocritical to talk about coexistence when, according to the UN Human Rights Council, 1462 Palestinian civilians and 5 Israeli civilians were killed in 7 weeks and the territory of Palestine is getting smaller day by day. Any loss of life is devastating.
I tend to stay out of Israel/Palestine conversations because it's a complicated issue that I’m not 100% educated on and let's be honest here, neither side has clean hands.
But if you look at any of the reports from the UN Human Rights Council, Palestine is certainly taking the brunt of the destruction.
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Every day we see stories coming out of Gaza about women and children being killed by IDF soldiers and not just by bombing. Point blank. The territory of Palestine is slowly disappearing and Google Maps doesn't even recognise its existence.
I absolutely recognise Israel's right to exist. My naïve wish for the Middle East is for Israel and Palestine to coexist peacefully. For each to have their own and equal space. Not for one side to be slowly phased out of existence. Will that happen in my lifetime?
Probably not while men are still in charge of the world, but that's another issue.
But this isn't a history lesson on the creation of Israel (which was only established on 14 May 1948, shortly after WW2); for me it's about my favourite superhero being played by someone who doesn't even believe in her message.
"But it's just acting. People who play serial killers don't really believe in killing people," I hear you say. It's not the same thing y'all. Palestine is basically an Apartheid state and as a South African and a Muslim, I find that heartbreaking.
Reading the Amnesty International report on the situation in Gaza draws too many similarities to how non-whites were treated in Apartheid South Africa. So to see my favourite superhero being portrayed by someone who vehemently supports that just doesn't sit right with me.
I was very on the fence about seeing this movie because I hear it's amazing and I really want to see my fave on the big screen. But then I think about that #WeAreRight hashtag and it's like a punch in the gut and I just can't.
Disclaimer: The views of columnists published on W24 are their own and therefore do not necessarily represent the views of W24.
