Senior Israeli actress Cheryl Gordonberg recently appeared on a live interview show on Channel 13 in Israel. During the show, she expressed criticism regarding the Palestinian Israeli conflict and the occupation issue. She came to realize afterwards that the camera was not turned off.
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The original topic of the interview was to look back on her long career in entertainment and her contributions in the cultural field. However, the conversation quickly turned into a heated political debate, with Gordonberg openly expressing her opposition to Israel’s policies regarding its occupation of Palestinian territories.
After that, Gordonberger, without realizing that the conversation was still being broadcast, said, “I really hope that I can once again feel happy being an Israeli.”
The host then asked, "Has it gotten to the point where you no longer want to be an Israeli?"
She replied, “I want this, but I am no longer proud of being an Israelite.”
When the host reminded that saying such things during live programming was ‘risky’, Gordonberg responded: ‘I’m not saying this in front of the camera, I’m just speaking privately.’
She still thought the camera had been turned off, and continued to speak frankly about her feelings towards the country: “I am not proud of the current state of our nation. This feeling is terrible. I was raised in an era that still takes pride in that past.”
"I was born in 1954. Even after 1967, it took me ten years to understand the guilt behind the occupation itself. This realization did not come instantaneously. The occupation is the source of all subsequent conflicts; everything that is happening now is a consequence of the occupation."
When the host pressed her for further explanation of the current situation in Israel, Gordonberger mentioned what she referred to as “religious coercion, settlers, Jewish extremist violence, arrogance and pride.”
She added, “A minority group has the right to resist for their own freedom.”
A host refuted this statement: “If this minority ‘kills’ civilians, our compatriots, and soldiers, then there is no such right at all.”
Gordonberg continued to explain that her criticism stemmed from deep love for the country, not lack of patriotism.
"I am very patriotic, and I love this country. This feeling is like watching one's own child grow up into a certain way, and you can't help but think: 'I never taught you like this.'"
Several hosts were clearly shocked by her speech. One of them said that hearing these words so early in the morning was unacceptable.
It was only at this moment that Gordonberg realized that the private conversation she thought was happening, was actually being broadcast to all viewers. She looked shocked and emotional, and asked, 'Did that conversation continue on live? That's not acceptable.'
She found it hard to accept the current situation and continued, “I don’t want this. I really don’t want it. I don’t know what to do now. I’m really scared. You didn’t tell me that we were still in the live broadcast mode, so I thought we had entered the advertisement time slot.”
In the follow-up interview, Gordonberg spoke directly to the audience and apologized for her approach. She explained that she didn't realize the camera was still broadcasting, and admitted that her words were more sharp than she had anticipated.
I'm a person who acts impulsively. When I speak, my emotions are intense, and I'm full of enthusiasm. It's easy for me to speak too enthusiastically. I didn't realize that I was still live-streaming at that moment.
This actress's blunt criticism of Israel and its occupation policies has caused a huge response on the internet. Some Israeli netizens accused her statements of being "disloyal to the country," while others praised her for daring to express her true thoughts.
Gordonberger came into the public eye as a model in his youth, and later became famous in 1978 with the Israeli film "The Theater Group".
