Gal Gadot to Produce Film Adaptation of Youth Novel on Antisemitism

Actress Gal Gadot and her husband Jaron Varsano are partnering with FOX Entertainment Studios and Moriah Media, the audiovisual branch of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, to adapt the young adult novel "Don't Feed the Lion" for the screen. The project, announced on Wednesday, November 11, will be produced by the studios, with Gadot and Varsano serving as executive producers through their company, Pilot Wave Motion Pictures.

The novel, written by journalists Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi, centers on Theo Kaplan, a 13-year-old Jewish boy in Chicago. The story unfolds when a football player Theo admires posts a viral antisemitic message, which then spreads to his middle school. Theo, along with his younger sister Annie and their friend Gabe, must confront prejudice and peer pressure. The book's title, "Don't Feed the Lion," is derived from advice Theo and Annie's grandfather gives them at Shabbat dinner: not to let fear or hatred grow.

Bianna Golodryga, a former CNN anchor, told the Jerusalem Post that the novel's concept originated in 2022 when her sports-loving son was disturbed by online antisemitic remarks from celebrities. He questioned why these individuals hated them and if he could still attend basketball games. Following the October 7, 2023 attacks, Golodryga and Yonit Levi, an anchor for Israel's N12 news channel, collaborated to write the book they wished had existed to help their children understand and confront antisemitism.

In a joint statement, Gal Gadot and Jaron Varsano expressed their personal connection to the project, stating, "This is a story that resonates deeply with us, as parents and as a family." They aim for their children to grow up in a world where differences are respected and no one feels isolated when speaking out against hate.