‘Cruel and detached’: Gwyneth Paltrow attacked after Israeli campaign

Gwyneth Paltrow has found herself at the center of a new storm after appearing in a campaign for “51 Park,” a luxury residential project by an Israeli real estate group. The campaign was filmed in New York, but is intended for marketing in Israel, or more specifically in Herzliya, where penthouses are being sold for a starting price of about $10 million.

In the video, the Oscar winner wakes up in a high-rise luxury apartment, goes out for a morning run and gets ready for her day, while explaining the benefits of living near a park. “There’s a reason the most iconic buildings in the world are located next to a park,” Paltrow says in the video, before asking a driver to take her to “51 Park.” “New York?” he asks. “Herzliya,” Paltrow replies with a smile. “Israel.”

The marketing move of comparing Herzliya Park to Central Park, while using Paltrow’s elitist lifestyle image, may have been useful for the campaign, but on social media it did not go over well. Alana Hadid, the half-sister of models Bella and Gigi Hadid, attacked the campaign and wrote that “the level of unbridled capitalism here is astounding.” “Cruel. Lady,” Hadid continued. “Have you opened a newspaper or watched the news recently? It’s not even insensitivity, it’s outright collaboration,” she added.

Of course, Hadid was far from the only one. One X user wrote: “Shocking lack of judgment by Gwyneth Paltrow. It’s horrifying to be associated with promoting Israel’s genocide.” Another user wrote: “Gwyneth Paltrow is helping Israel sell stolen coastline apartments. She’s the face of two luxury towers on the Herzliya seafront. That beach was the Palestinian village of al-Haram, whose residents were expelled in 1948. Israelis call it luxury living. The people pushed off that beach once called it home.” A different commenter joined the discussion, writing: “At this point Gwyneth Paltrow is almost a parody of herself. I refuse to believe she is this comfortable being the most detached woman on planet Earth.”

Journalist Carole Cadwalladr also joined the criticism, writing on social media: “I would very much like to be a fly on the wall in the strategy meetings that led to Gwyneth Paltrow deciding to promote an Israeli real estate company founded by a friend of Bibi Netanyahu, who was accused of various securities offenses, in order to sell a luxury building in a city named after the father of Zionism.”

As is known, the actress, whose father Bruce Paltrow was Jewish, has spoken in the past about her Jewish heritage and her support for Israel. She said she grew up in a home that observed both Jewish and Christian holidays, and said she feels connected to her Jewish roots. In 2024, she took part in a series of Hanukkah videos alongside Noa Tishby, where the two discussed their family traditions and heritage. In addition, since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Paltrow has used her social media platforms to share messages supporting Israeli hostages and to raise awareness of their situation. Her cousin, Rebecca Paltrow, is married to Israeli entrepreneur Adam Neumann.