The official Instagram account of the State of Israel reacted to an Instagram story by Gigi Hadid (28). The American model, the daughter of a Palestinian father and a Dutch mother, initially posted the sentence over the weekend: “There is nothing Jewish about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians.” Condemning them is not anti-Semitic and supporting Palestinians does not mean supporting Hamas.
Israel’s response was quick to post a similar sentence with different prefixes in direct reference to Gigi Hadid: “There is nothing courageous about Hamas’ massacres against Israel. To condemn Hamas for what it is (ISIS), is not anti-Palestinian and supporting Israelis in their fight against barbaric terrorists is the right thing to do.”
Gigi Hadid was also addressed directly: “Did you sleep last week? Or is it okay for you to turn a blind eye when Jewish babies are slaughtered in their homes? Your silence has made it very clear where you stand.” Regarding a picture of a child’s room covered in blood, Israel wrote: “If you don’t condemn this, your words mean nothing.”
Gigi Hadid spoke out for the first time on Tuesday, October 10th. She condemned “the terrorization of innocent people.” This is not in line with the “Free Palestine” movement. Hadid shared a lengthy statement on her Instagram page, which is followed by 79.2 million people. It said: “My thoughts are with everyone affected by this unjustified tragedy and every day that this conflict claims innocent lives – too many of them children.” She has “deep compassion and deep sorrow for the Palestinian struggle and life under the occupation.” It is a “responsibility that I carry every day.”
But she also emphasized: “I also feel an obligation to my Jewish friends to make it clear, as I have done before: although I have hopes and dreams for the Palestinians, none of them include the suffering inflicted on a Jewish person .”
The model continues: “Terrorizing innocent people is inconsistent with and does nothing to benefit the Free Palestine movement. The idea that this is the case has fueled a painful, decades-long cycle of back-and-forth retaliation ( “no innocent civilian, Palestinian or Israeli, deserves to be a victim) and helps perpetuate the false idea that pro-Palestine = anti-Semitic.”
She expressed her condolences to both affected Palestinians and Jews and sent “my love and strength – whoever and wherever you are.” Every person deserves “basic rights, treatment and security; regardless of their nationality, religion, ethnicity or place of birth.” She knows her words are never enough, “but I always pray for the safety of innocent lives.”
Both Gigi and her sister Bella Hadid (27) have supported Palestine in the past and taken part in marches and demonstrations. They have been criticized for sharing their anti-Israel thoughts online – particularly in a 2021 post that claimed Israel is not a country but a colonized country. Unlike Gigi, model Bella Hadid – a vocal pro-Palestine activist – has yet to publicly comment on the attacks, which killed more than 1,000 people.
