Gal Gadot to adapt children's novel 'Don't Feed the Lion' about antisemitism into film

NOVEMBER 11, 2026 23:33Updated: NOVEMBER 11, 2026 23:37Gal Gadot and her husband and producing partner, Jaron Varsano, are teaming up with FOX Entertainment Studios and Moriah Media on a film adaptation of Don’t Feed the Lion, the novel for tweens about confronting antisemitism by broadcast journalists Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi, the companies announced Wednesday.Gadot and Varsano will serve as executive producers through their company, Pilot Wave Motion Pictures. FOX Entertainment Studios and Moriah Media, the storytelling arm of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, will option, develop, and produce the film.Published by Arcadia Children’s Books, the novel follows Theo Kaplan, a 13-year-old Jewish boy in Chicago whose soccer idol posts an antisemitic message online that goes viral. As the hatred spreads into their middle school, Theo, his younger sister, Annie, and their classmate Gabe, who is part Korean, must contend with prejudice and peer pressure, find allies, and decide how to speak out.The story also unfolds around Friday-night Shabbat dinners with Theo and Annie’s immigrant grandparents. The title comes from their grandfather’s advice not to “feed the lion” by letting fear, panic, or hatred grow.“This is a story that feels especially personal to us, both as parents and as a family,” Gadot and Varsano said in a joint statement. “We want our children to grow up in a world where differences are respected, where hatred is challenged and where no one feels alone in standing up for what is right.”Yonit Levi anchors the top-rated Channel 12 evening news broadcast and co-host of the podcast, UNHOLY. (credit: KESHET)Golodryga, an Emmy-winning journalist and former CNN anchor, and Levi, the longtime anchor of the Channel 12 news, Israel’s top-rated news broadcast, and co-host of the podcast Unholy: Two Jews on the News, said the book grew out of their concerns as Jewish mothers and questions from their own children."We wrote Don’t Feed the Lion as two Jewish mothers concerned about the world our children were growing up in. We were alarmed not only by the rise in antisemitism, but by the lack of resources to help children and teens understand and confront it. No child should have to experience hate or feel powerless in the face of it,” said Golodryga and Levi.“We are incredibly grateful to FOX Entertainment Studios, Gal Gadot, and Jaron Varsano for immediately connecting with our story, embracing its mission, and recognizing the importance of bringing its message of courage, empathy, and standing up to hate to an even wider audience.”Book inspired by rising antisemitism in the USGolodryga told The Jerusalem Post in an interview last year when the book was published, “The seed for Don’t Feed the Lion was planted before October 7. I had noticed rising antisemitism in the US, and it really hit home in 2022 when several celebrities – from rappers to NBA players – made antisemitic remarks online. My son, who’s a huge sports fan, asked, ‘Why do they hate us? Can I not go to basketball games anymore?’ It was a gut punch," she said.Golodryga continued, "I came to this country [from the former Soviet Union] as a Jewish political refugee, and I didn’t know how to answer that question – in 2022, in Manhattan. Then came the earthquake of October 7, and Yonit and I immediately gravitated toward each other. We decided we needed to address what we were seeing – to create a book we wished we could have found for our own kids.”Levi said, “Bianna and I talked a lot in those first days. Because we’re both on television, we have to stay composed. We were each other’s shoulder to cry on. Out of that distress, we asked, ‘What can we do?’ And that’s where the idea for the book was born – it was Bianna’s idea originally.”Fernando Szew, president and head of studio at FOX Entertainment Studios, said, “Don’t Feed the Lion brings a difficult subject into focus through characters young audiences can see themselves in and choices they recognize from their own lives. At FOX Entertainment Studios, we’re drawn to stories that entertain, spark conversation, and connect with audiences across generations. Bianna and Yonit have written a powerful, deeply human story, and Gal and Jaron bring tremendous creative vision and passion to the project. Building on our meaningful collaboration with Moriah Media on One Day in October [a television series about October 7], we’re proud to work with this exceptional team to bring it to the screen."Bianna Golodryga is a former CNN anchor and senior global affairs analyst. (credit: CNN)FOX Entertainment also recently partnered on Avi Nesher’s drama about characters in the south of Israel before and during October 7, Our Loves.“Stories can reach young people in ways that arguments and headlines often can’t,” said Jim Berk, CEO of Moriah Media.In April, the Page Six Hollywood newsletter, a section of the New York Post, reported that although the book had sold 34,000 copies, The New York Times did not include it on its bestseller list.Reporter Tatiana Siegel wrote, “Conventional wisdom in the publishing world finds that a book needs to sell roughly 3,000 to 6,000 copies in a single month to crack the Gray Lady’s Middle Grade Paperback list, which comes out monthly rather than weekly. Don’t Feed the Lion has exceeded that in each of the four months it has been eligible for the list and has made USA Today’s list.”The NYP published the article under the headline, “Lion Roars, ‘Times’ Snores.” The newspaper responded with a statement saying that it compiles the data for the bestseller lists from many sources but did not explain why Don’t Feed the Lion did not make the list.The announcement about the upcoming film adaptation coincided with the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s presentation of its 2026 Jewish Heritage Award to Golodryga at its Humanitarian Award Dinner in Los Angeles on November 11.The award recognizes those who use their public platforms to confront antisemitism, preserve Jewish memory, and deepen understanding of Jewish experience.Follow us on Google