Short answer: As of July 2026, Antonio Banderas has a documented record of pro-Israel actions, even though he has never made a public verbal statement declaring a position on the conflict. In November 2015 he attended the Friends of the IDF (FIDF) Western Region Gala in Beverly Hills, a single evening that raised $31 million for the Israeli military, and he was photographed alongside an IDF soldier. Earlier, in 2001, he starred in and filmed "The Body," an American-Israeli-German co-production shot on location in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. He is Roman Catholic with no Jewish heritage, and he did not sign the May 2025 Cannes letter that his longtime collaborator Pedro Almodovar and fellow Spaniard Javier Bardem signed, nor the September 2025 pledge to boycott Israeli film institutions that Bardem signed.
What Antonio Banderas has actually said and done
- 2001: Banderas stars as a Vatican priest in "The Body," an American-Israeli-German co-production shot on location in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, an early professional tie to Israel (Wikipedia).
- November 5, 2015: Banderas attends the Friends of the IDF (FIDF) Western Region Gala at the Beverly Hilton, a sold-out night that raised $31 million for the Israeli military in one evening, and he is photographed next to an IDF staff sergeant (The Times of Israel, corroborated by Olive Press News Spain).
- November 12, 2015: Spanish and international press flag the FIDF appearance as courting controversy, and pro-Palestinian activists circulate his soldier photo and call on followers to message him (Olive Press News Spain).
- BDS-aligned trackers: Databases that catalog Israel supporters list Banderas, citing the 2015 FIDF gala and the 2001 Israel-shot film as "material support" (Reverse Canary Mission).
- May 2025: An open letter at the Cannes Film Festival condemning film-industry "silence" on Gaza is signed by Banderas's frequent director Pedro Almodovar and by Javier Bardem. Banderas is not among the signatories (TheWrap).
- September 11, 2025: A pledge to boycott Israeli film institutions grows past 4,000 actors and filmmakers. Banderas's name does not appear among the signatories, keeping him outside the industry boycott (The Times of Israel).
- June 2026: Banderas gives emotional testimony about his Catholic faith before Pope Leo XIV in Spain, underscoring his Roman Catholic identity and the absence of any Jewish heritage (NewsNation).
Faith, background, and where the boycott talk comes from
Antonio Banderas was born in 1960 in Malaga, Spain, to a police officer father and a teacher mother, and was raised Roman Catholic. He describes himself as culturally Catholic and has walked in Malaga's Holy Week processions for more than 20 years, a devotion he spoke about in his 2026 testimony before Pope Leo XIV (NewsNation). He has no Jewish ancestry or Jewish-identity connection on the public record. On Israel specifically, the boycott chatter around him comes from BDS-aligned databases, which flag two things: his role in the 2001 film "The Body," shot in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (Wikipedia), and his attendance at the November 5, 2015 FIDF gala that raised $31 million for the IDF in one night (The Times of Israel). What is notably absent is any Banderas verbal statement on the Israel and Palestine conflict. His pro-Israel footprint rests on actions and appearances, not declarations. He also stayed off the 2025 film-industry letters: he did not sign the May 2025 Cannes letter that his longtime director Pedro Almodovar and fellow Spaniard Javier Bardem signed, nor the September 2025 pledge to boycott Israeli film institutions that Bardem signed.
The bottom line
Banderas is not a vocal activist on Israel, but the record is not blank and it is not neutral. He showed up in person for a 2015 gala that raised $31 million for the IDF and let himself be photographed with a soldier, and he had already filmed a 2001 movie on location in Israel. He has never issued a public statement on the conflict, and he did not join the film-industry boycott of Israel that swept many of his peers in 2025. On the actions available to the public, he reads as quietly friendly to Israel rather than hostile, with no Jewish personal connection.
Support Israel directly
Celebrity positions come and go, and plenty of them stay silent. Your own support does not have to. Whether you want to stand with the soldiers Banderas once helped raise money for or simply show where you stand, you can back Israel in a way that is unmistakable through our Support Israel collection, from IDF apparel to Star of David jewelry and Am Yisrael Chai designs. Every piece is a small, everyday way to wear your own answer, no press statement required.
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Last updated July 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
