Gal Gadot rides in cab on satirical special during Israel election night

Gal Gadot climbed into a fictional taxi cab on Tuesday night, joining the regular cast of the Israeli satirical program Eretz Nehederet. The appearance took place during a two-part special aired on Channel 12 as the country awaited the results of its latest general election. Gadot, who was born in Israel, interacted with the show's recurring characters in a sketch that blended political commentary with comedy.

The broadcast was divided into two distinct segments. The first half aired before voting ended, while the second half followed the release of exit polls. Those polls indicated a fragmented result, leaving neither major political bloc with a clear mandate to form a government. This ambiguity provided a backdrop for the show's writers to craft sketches that addressed the uncertainty of the outcome.

In the opening sequence, Yuval Semo played Asher, a talkative cab driver. The character picked up passengers from the group of more than 70,000 Israelis who had returned from overseas to cast ballots. When Gadot entered the vehicle, Asher questioned her presence. He asked if she had come back to vote or to participate in the television show The Masked Singer. Gadot confirmed she had returned for the election.

Gadot told Semo she had lived outside of Israel for nearly 12 years. When pressed on her political preference, she whispered her choice to the character. The party's name was bleeped out when Asher attempted to announce it through a megaphone. She cited the teaching of Hillel the Elder, stating, "If not now, when?" She also discussed the experience of being an Israeli and Jewish in Hollywood amid rising antisemitism.

She described the challenge of living abroad, noting that she often wore a mask when going out. Gadot explained that she tried to provide context to Americans, emphasizing that the perspective from the United States differs from the view in Israel. She stated her plan to return to Israel with her husband and their four daughters. Three of the children were born in the United States, and the family is currently building a house in Israel. The sketch concluded with Gadot taking the steering wheel, referencing her role in the Fast and Furious franchise, and transforming the cab into a flying car.

Other sketches in the first half portrayed political figures in exaggerated scenarios. Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, was depicted wielding a sawed-off shotgun. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a gold suitcase of cash, a reference to Qatari funds transferred to Hamas. Another segment showed Netanyahu holding a toy mushroom cloud, mocking an AI image released during the campaign that depicted Tel Aviv destroyed by an Iranian nuclear bomb. Naftali Bennett of the B'Yachad Party was shown so engrossed in discussion groups with older citizens that he missed his chance to vote.

The second part of the special addressed the inconclusive election results. One sketch featured Eisenkot, Bennett, and Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beytenu as game show contestants. They struggled to walk back their pledges not to form coalitions with Arab or ultra-Orthodox parties. Members of the People of Israel Party, Ofer Winter and Yoseph Haddad, appeared distressed that their party had fallen short of the threshold for Knesset representation. Haddad remarked that he seemed to be the only Arab candidate not elected, pointing to the stronger-than-expected performance of other Arab parties.

The program ended with a break from its usual format. Host Eyal Kitzis did not deliver his standard line about Israel being a wonderful country. Instead, he handed the broadcast back to Channel 12 news anchor Yonit Levi, marking the transition from satire to news coverage.