Half-Palestinian supermodel Gigi Hadid has publicly responded to the current wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence after the terrorist organization Hamas launched attacks on southern Israel.
“Terrorizing innocent people is not aligned with or does any good for the ‘Free Palestine’ movement,” Hadid said in a lengthy post on her InsTagram account on Tuesday. Hadid, whose father, Mohamed Hadid, is a Palestinian immigrant and practicing Muslim, said she has a “deep empathy and heartbreak for the Palestinian struggle and life under occupation.”
But she added: “I also feel a responsibility to my Jewish friends to make it clear, as I have done before: while I have hopes and dreams for the Palestinians, none of them include the harm of a Jewish person.” Hadid’s comments followed the deadly attack in Israel last weekend, orchestrated by the Palestinian terror group Hamas.
The attack was followed by Israel declaring a formal war against Hamas, with the escalating retaliation leading to a rising death toll that has surpassed 1,800 victims on both sides since Saturday. according to the Associated Press.
Hadid and her younger sister, Bella Hadid, have a history of supporting Palestinians cause.
Her Instagram post is below in full:
My thoughts are with all those affected by this unjustified tragedy and every day innocent lives are claimed by this conflict – too many of which are children. I have deep empathy and heartbreak for the Palestinian struggle and life under the occupation, it is a responsibility I bear every day.
I also feel a responsibility to my Jewish friends to make it clear, as I have done before: while I have hopes and dreams for the Palestinians, none of them include the harm of a Jewish person. Terrorizing innocent people is inconsistent with and not good for the Free Palestine movement.
The idea that it does has fueled a painful, decades-long cycle of back-and-forth retaliation (of which no innocent citizen, Palestinian or Israeli, deserves to be a victim) and helps perpetuate the false idea that being pro-Palestine = being anti-Semitic. If you are in pain as I share my condolences today with my loved ones, both Palestinian and Jewish, I send you my love and strength – whoever and wherever you are.
There are many complex, personal and valid feelings, but every person deserves basic rights, treatment and safety; regardless of their nationality, religion, ethnicity or where they were born. I know my words will never be enough or heal the deep wounds of so many, but I always pray for the safety of innocent lives.
