Gwyneth Paltrow Appears in Ad for Israeli Luxury Real Estate Developer

Hollywood actor Gwyneth Paltrow has become the face of a luxury real estate development in Israel, defying a global boycott movement against the country in response to its genocide in Gaza.

Paltrow drew fierce criticism on Wednesday after appearing in an ad for 51 Park, a 51-storey development in the coastal city of Herzliya, just north of Tel Aviv, where units reportedly sell for up to $10m (£7.4m).

The ad campaign was commissioned by luxury developer Aviv by Melisron and created by the Israeli agency Why Worry.

“Imagine advertising luxury villas in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust,” user Ounka wrote on X. “That’s the level of tone-deaf we’re witnessing.”

In the one-minute ad, filmed in New York, Paltrow wakes up in a swanky apartment and complains in a voice-over: “Who decided mornings should be so early? Even my coffee needs a coffee.”

She then goes jogging in Central Park and says, “Waking up for a morning run can be brutal, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay. Because once I hit the park, pure energy takes over.”

Later, she says to camera: “There’s a reason why the world’s most iconic buildings are by a park,” as she walks to a car and asks to be taken to 51 Park. When the driver asks if she means in New York, she replies: “No. Herzliya, Israel.”

Joshua Carroll is a writer and journalist.