Israeli actress Swell Ariel Or has long cared about championing Israeli women and Jews, but her new role playing an Israel Defense Forces unit captain during the deadly Oct.7 Hamas attacks has her taking her advocacy to the next level.Since the Tel Aviv-born star of Netflix’s Israeli television series "The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem" hit Hollywood’s radar in 2021, she’s been on a mission — and it doesn’t involve chasing award nominations or lucrative brand endorsements like many rising young actresses in Tinseltown.Instead, Or told Fox News Digital, her mission focuses on authentic storytelling and meaningful narratives that accurately represent her people."I think that, of course, the Oscars matter and Hollywood, I mean, like, it's like the Olympics for films and TV, right? But I've seen what it does to the industry to be driven by getting an award or getting accepted to an elite circle of intellectuals and art people," she said.
"I just feel as a storyteller that it hurts — that's not what we’re telling stories for."IDF CLAIMS TO HAVE TAKEN OUT HAMAS COMMANDER WHO PARTICIPATED IN OCT 7Swell Ariel Or speaks onstage during Variety Hollywood & Antisemitism Summit Presented by The Margaret & Daniel Loeb Foundation and Shine A Light Foundation at 1 Hotel West Hollywood on Oct.18, 2023, in West Hollywood, California.
(Araya Doheny/Variety)The 27-year-old actress recently went viral for echoing that sentiment on Instagram for ARISE for Israel, an alliance whose mission is to "reinforce Israel’s security and economy," while promoting her new film, "Tankistas." The plural form of "tankista," the title means "tank crew members" or "tankers" in several languages."I don’t care about the Oscars.I don’t care about Hollywood.
I don’t care about doing the biggest, greatest career… I care about honest representation of who we are," Or said about her upcoming film, which wrapped production earlier this year and is being edited in both English and H...