AS a half-Palestinian woman, model Gigi Hadid has been vocal since the very start about her support for Palestine as well as her disdain for the Israeli government.
Just a few days ago, Hadid posted an infographic on her story that read: “There is nothing valiant about Hamas’ massacre of Israelis. Condemning Hamas for what it is (ISIS) is not anti-Palestine and supporting Israelis in their fight against barbaric terrorists is the right thing to do.”
She then posted a statement on Instagram showing support for Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas conflict currently going on.
“I have deep empathy and heartbreak for the Palestinian struggle and life under occupation, it’s a responsibility I hold daily,” she said.
“I also feel a responsibility to my Jewish friends to make it clear, as I have before: While I have hopes and dreams for Palestinians, none of them include the harm of a Jewish person.”
In the post, Hadid further emphasized that the terrorizing of the innocent does not align with the ‘Free Palestine’ movement she has been extremely vocal about being a part of online.
She goes on to say that every human deserves access to basic rights, treatment, as well as security no matter their nationality, religion, ethnicity, or country of birth.
Despite this, the official Instagram page of the Israeli government started posting stories tagging and attacking Hadid, asking her if she’d been sleeping the past week, or if she was fine with turning a blind eye to the Jewish babies being butchered within their homes.
“Your silence has been very clear about where you stand. We see you,” the story read.
People all over the internet were quick to show outrage after this post was made. Hadid is yet to post a response.
The Israel-Hamas conflict
Hamas is known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, and is one of the Palestinian territories’ two major political parties, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Why are people only talking about this conflict between Israel and Hamas now? Because last October 7th, Hamas members broke into Israeli territory, with Hamas gunmen killing over 1, 400 people and taking around 199 hostages.
This operation – labeled Al-Aqsa Storm – was said to have been a retaliation to the Israeli attacks on Palestinian women, the desecration of a mosque in Jerusalem, as well as the current siege happening between Israel and Palestine in Gaza.
Support from celebrities has since been mixed, with some like Noah Schnapp stating that you either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism, and those like Hadid who firmly believe that the movements of the Hamas organization have nothing to do with the battle for liberation that the rest of the Palestinian people are fighting for.
Whether you are in support of Israel or Palestine, one thing must be taken into account: do your research. Learn what each side is fighting for. Don’t just side with whoever is trending more on social media.
Each day that passes, lives are being lost; innocent women, children, and men are being killed daily. This is more than just a trend, and at a time like this, silence can be deadly.
For those of you who live in privilege, and who are quick to jump on social media trends, help those whose voices cannot be heard. If needed, help them fight the good fight.
