Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot says she is pleased that Ynon Kreiz has been made the co-CEO of Skydance and feels hopeful that he might be able to help beat back the rise in antisemitism.
She held back tears during her comments at the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Humanitarian Award Dinner and said the rise wave of hate is frightening, Variety reported.
“I’m frightened by how quickly hatred of Jews is spreading,” she said on Wednesday evening, “and how openly it is expressed and accepted. “Since the Oct. 7 massacre and the war that followed, I have found myself asking how far this can go. If people get used to hearing and seeing hatred and looking the other way, then where does it end?”
But she then noted that she does have hope.
“What gives me hope is that people like Ynon aren’t wavering,” she said of the new Skydance exec. “He’s doing what he’s always done. He’s standing firm. He feels what our what our community is going through. He’s sticking up against antisemitism. He’s bringing his intense conviction and heart to this fight. He’s leading.”
“That leadership is like a beacon of light and in a dark hour nothing matters more than a ray of light to give all of us courage,” she said.
Kreiz took on the position at Skydance in September, and was previously the CEO for Mattel. He was brought on to oversee the day-to-day operations at Skydance as well as the integration of combined businesses in light of Skydance’s mergers, first with Paramount and now with Warner Bros.
For his part, David Ellison praised Kreiz, saying, “He is a leader in the truest sense of the word, someone who gives generously of himself, puts his values into practice and is deeply committed to his community and the causes that matter most to him. When something needs to be done, he acts.”
Closing out the evening with his own comments, the newly appointed co-CEO insisted that, “Disagreement with the policies of the Israeli government cannot become an excuse for the hatred of Jews.”
Kreiz also praised Skydance CEO David Ellison for his “bold stand for Israel and the Jewish people,” and urged the U.S. to “remain unshakable” in its relationship with Israel.
He also summed up his personal philosophy of leadership.
“We recognize that business leadership comes with a moral obligation,” Kreiz said. “We believe in prioritizing the people we serve, respecting different perspectives and letting truth and facts lead the way. We intend to use talents and influence for good, and we expect to be held to that standard. If we can touch hearts and minds, and entertain, inform and inspire the world through exceptional storytelling, we will have people imagine a better future.”
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