Last week, Mia Khalifa faced backlash for some less-than-diplomatic commentary on the brutal violence in Israel.
This week, it’s Gigi Hadid’s turn.
Except instead of a series of provocative and arguably insensitive tweets, it’s a well-conceived and very mild, nuanced post.
And instead of random people on social media, it’s the actual government of Israel targeting her.
In a recent Instagram post, Gigi Hadid took measures to remind everyone to separate the Jewish people — a collection of ethnic, cultural, and religious groups with shared heritage — from the Israeli government.
After all, Israel is a country. The majority of Jews live in other countries — with significantly more residing in the United States than in Israel.
Gigi’s post sought to point that out — making it clear that it is downright antisemitic to blame the Jewish community for the current actions of Israel’s government.
“There is nothing Jewish about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians,” Gigi wrote.
“Condemning the Israeli government is not antisemitic,” she emphasized.
“And,” Gigi went on to affirm, “supporting Palestinians is not supporting Hamas.”
On Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike struck a hospital in Gaza, killing at least 500. This is only one of the latest blows in the country’s military campaign that ostensibly targets Hamas.
Israel already cut off essentials like food, water, and electricity to more than half a million people living in Gaza.
Palestinians, already living in what human rights experts refer to as an “open air prison,” were already suffering under apartheid in their own country. Now, many have to either flee for their lives or die in their homes. And thousands have already had that choice made for them.
With that in mind, Gigi’s comments seem fairly mild. Unless you are running Israel’s official Instagram account, it seems.
“Have you been sleeping the past week?” @stateofisrael demanded while tagging Gigi on Tuesday. “Or are you just fine turning a blind eye to Jewish babies being butchered in their homes?”
Ominously, the account continued: “Your silence has been very clear about where you stand. We see you,”
Israel’s official Instagram account then went on to openly mock Gigi’s original post, parodying her own message.
“There is nothing valiant about Hamas’ massacre of Israelis,” the text began. “Condemning Hamas for what it is (ISIS) is not anti-Palestine.”
“And,” the text then claimed, “supporting Israelis in their fight against barbaric terrorists is the right thing to do.”
Parts of that are largely indisputable.
The attack that Hamas led, arguably an “invasion” of Israel, brought about the brutal deaths of children and others. Militants kidnapped and killed hundreds of Israelis.
Most of us are lucky enough to have no idea how far we would go to defend our homelands if our country were occupied and we were forced to live under apartheid. However, hopefully we can all agree that the wholesale slaughter of children is not, and cannot be, the key to anyone’s liberation.
But … Gigi didn’t suggest otherwise? The only part of Israel’s mocking statement with which she might (presumably) disagree is the part about “supporting Israelis in their fight” being “the right thing to do.”
Obviously, Gigi’s statement doesn’t say that at all. She implied that she does not support the government’s actions. Many have said the same. Often, in harsher tones.
And as a growing number of world governments condemn the shelling of Palestinian homes and hospitals, one can see that she is not alone. Super weird of an actual government to single her out.
Simon Delott
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