Hollywood Hypocrites: How Celebrity Activists Betrayed Israel
By Caroline Downey
Like America did on September 11, 2001, Israel went into shock on October 7. After terrorist group Hamas launched a surprise invasion, gruesome details surfaced. Every time you’d refresh Twitter, you’d find more documentation of their heinous crimes. Hamas, attacking on a Jewish religious holiday, perpetrated the most brutal onslaught against Jews since the Holocaust. The terrorists killed, raped, tortured, maimed, burned alive, and abducted civilians, over 1400 of whom are dead. Hundreds more are hostages. Many women, elderly, and children were among the victims. Until October 7, it had been a long time since the western world rallied around Israel. After former president Obama’s shunning, America has recommitted to her ally. But there are cowards amid the chaos, and many of them are Hollywood celebrities.
Upon seeing Hamas’s barbarism, you’d think all celebrities would rush to condemn it. Many Hollywood pearl clutchers who screamed “Black Lives Matter” have been silent, however. Other stars have tried to justify the savagery as legitimate Palestinian “resistance” to Israel’s alleged apartheid state. Others had the moral clarity to stand with Israel after seeing the horrors but later surrendered to the mob. Other left wing actors and activists who hop on most social justice bandwagons waited embarrassingly long to speak or drew inappropriate equivalency between “both sides.”
Half-Palestinian supermodel Gigi Hadid said nothing for a week before she released a mild statement that ended with: “While I have hopes and dreams for Palestinians, none of them include the harm of a Jewish person. The terrorizing of innocent people is not in alignment with and does not do any good for the ‘Free Palestine’ movement.”
Prior to that lame sympathy, Hadid said: “There is nothing Jewish about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians. Condemning the Israeli government is not antisemitic and supporting Palestinians is not supporting Hamas.”
The official Instagram account for the State of Israel slammed Hadid in a response.
“Have you been sleeping the past week? Or are you just fine turning a blind eye to Jewish babies being butchered in their homes? Your silence has been very clear about where you stand. We see you,” it said.
Hadid’s sister Bella still has said nothing. Kylie Jenner, the youngest of the Kardashian sisters, initially posted a statement supporting Israel amid the tragedy but then deleted it, asking followers not to “judge” her for her spinelessness. Singer Selena Gomez, who blacked out her entire website in 2020 to redirect visitors to donate to Black Lives Matter, hasn’t dedicated a word on social media to raising money for Israel’s hospitals or families of the slain.
As of October 10, none of the ten most followed Instagram personas, including Ariana Grande, Beyonce, and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, had spoken out for Israel, Breitbart reported.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson weighed in to condemn Hamas…a whole five days after the war crimes became public. He said, “I'm heartbroken, angry, and sickened by the brutal murders and kidnapping of Jewish people through the horrific acts of the Hamas terrorist group.”
Dylan Mulvaney, who I was reliably told is the biggest victim of hate, has not made a peep. Model Emily Ratajkowski, who usually fishes for woke brownie points, has been absent. Pop singer Zara Larsson released a statement that suggested that Israel was the aggressor.
“Oh so it’s stand with Ukraine when Russia invades but not Palesti-,” she said.
Chronically online comedian Chelsea Handler appeared to conflate Trump supporters with Hamas, saying “I do not believe Hamas represents all Palestinians just like jihadists don’t represent most Islamists. Just like Maga idiots don’t represent Americans.” The View co-host Sunny Hostin similarly compared Hamas to the far-right group the Proud Boys, arguing they’re both designated as terrorist organizations.
Climate zealot Greta Thunberg, who has a middle school understanding of geopolitics, urged followers to “stand with Gaza,” saying nothing of the horrors done to Israeli people. Marvel movie star Mark Ruffalo, who’s supported the Palestinian cause in the past, implied that both sides of the conflict have contributed to the provocation, he asked people to pray for the Israeli civilians killed and kidnapped as well as for “the safety of the innocent people of Gaza who are being bombarded and besieged.”
Hamas in its charter explicitly calls for the extermination of Jews in Israel and worldwide. After abusing the word “Nazi” for so many years at the expense of the Jews who experienced an actual genocide, celebrities now can’t even spot one. Fortunately many liberal Jews in the movie, fashion, and entertainment industries, such as Amy Schumer and Jerry Seinfeld, are waking up. They may now understand that their loyalty to progressivism will not be reciprocated when they need it. Israel’s existence, where 41 percent of the world’s Jews live (another 41 percent live in the U.S.), is in jeopardy. But most of Hollywood doesn’t care.
We cannot tolerate silence or lukewarm condolences from celebrities who spent the last few years chastising Americans for issues far less blatantly binary as this one. One should dread the civilian casualties, among women and children especially, that will come out of this conflict. But no celebrity should be calling into question Israel’s right to an overwhelming military response. The Palestinian people in 2006 chose Hamas to govern it in Gaza, and it has backfired big time. Hamas spends much of its humanitarian aid on armaments rather than community construction. It plants rockets on the same premises as hospitals, and terror tunnels throughout civilian buildings.
When Hamas violates international law by targeting the most vulnerable, it’s a fight for civilization, not just Israeli sovereignty. Celebrities of all people should be saying now, “Neutrality is not an option.”
Caroline Downey is the Editor-in-Chief of The Conservateur and an education reporter at National Review. She can be found on Twitter @carolinedowney_.
