Islamabad Nov 18 (Online): Several influential names from Hollywood have come forward to speak out against the violence and fervently call for an end to the bloodshed in Palestine
In the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, the plight of innocent civilians of Gaza, particularly children who lost their lives following heavy bombing, has captured the attention of celebrities around the world. A group of them also wrote an open letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to take action in the midst of the ongoing crisis. The letter attracted a diverse group of signatories including Jennifer Lopez, Zayn Malik, Bella Hadid, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Channing Tatum, Drake, Dua Lipa, Joaquin Phoenix, Joe Alwyn, Kristen Stewart, Michael Moore, and Sarah Jones, amongst others. But besides the letter, several other influential names have now come forward individually, to speak out against the violence and fervently call for an end to the bloodshed, amplifying the urgent need for peace and humanitarian aid.
Selena Gomez, Angelina Jolie among many others have come out to call out Israel for attack on Palestine
Mark Ruffalo
Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for calling Palestinians “collateral damage”. Speaking at NBC’s Meet the Press, Netanyahu said, “We’re deliberately doing everything in our power to target the terrorists. And the civilians, as happens in every legitimate war, are sometimes what are called ‘collateral damage.’ That’s a longer way of saying unintended casualties.” In response to his statement, Ruffalo took to social media and shared, “No. Sorry. They are not ‘collateral damage’ they are human beings who happen to have been born there and live there and most of those human beings are stuck there. Have some compassion, they are Palestinians not buildings or roads or things, they are human beings and so are the hostages whose lives you may also be destroying. They aren’t ‘collateral damage’ either.”
Angelina Jolie
Hollywood actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie, also a longstanding special envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), voiced strong criticism of Israel for its military actions in Gaza. In her long Instagram post, a week back, she wrote, “What happened in Israel is an act of terror. But that cannot justify the innocent lives lost in bombing a civilian population in Gaza that has nowhere to go, no access to food or water, no possibility of evacuation, and not even the basic human right to cross a border to seek refuge.” In a later post she uploaded a picture of Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip with the caption saying that “Gaza has been an open-air prison for nearly two decades and is fast becoming a mass grave.”
Selena Gomez
On November 6, Gomez-fronted makeup brand Rare Beauty also shared a post to its Instagram feed condemning the recent Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, and shared that it will be donating to Palestinian relief organizations in light of the conflict. “Palestinian civilians must be protected, period. Rare Beauty will be making donations to the International Red Cross/ Red Crescent Societies – Magen David Adom and Palestinian Red Crescent Society – who are providing urgent care on the ground. We will also be donating to UNICEF to help get urgent medical relief and resources to the children of Gaza.” The post arrives after Gomez issued a statement on October 31 stating that she would take a social media break because of the “horror, hate, violence and terror that’s going on in the world” and that an Instagram post would not be enough to end the Israel-Hamas war. ““People being tortured and killed or any act of hate towards any one group is horrific. We need to protect ALL people, especially children and stop the violence for good,” she wrote in her post.
Gigi Hadid
Gigi Hadid, who is of Palestinian origin, has been a longtime advocate for the Free Palestine movement and few weeks back, she spoke out about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, and called it an “unjustifiable tragedy”. The supermodel shared a graphic to her Instagram story sometime back that read: “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.” Two weeks back, Hadid also shared a statement on her Instagram clearing that while she holds deep empathy for Palestine. “I have deep empathy and heartbreak for the Palestinian struggle and life under occupation; it’s a responsibility I hold daily. 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,” she wrote on Instagram last week.
John Cusack
John Cusak has been known for his pro-Palestinian stance and is a regular at demonstrations supporting the people of Gaza. An actor, filmmaker, and screenwriter recently attended Palestinian march in Chicago on October 14, post which, he wrote his experience on social media in support of the people of the place. “I’ll tell you what I didn’t hear: I didn’t hear death to Israel, I didn’t hear death to Jews, I didn’t hear people celebrating the killing of Israeli civilians. What I still heard is – we need to free Palestine from a brutal occupation – people worried about their loved ones in a hellish area, stranded without food, water, and electricity. Profound anxiety from people being told to leave and then being bombed when they do,” he shared. He went on to write, “I heard people share personal accounts of family members who have been jailed humiliated, harassed, persecuted, targeted and killed for generations. Family members that have been hit with tear gas for no reason and they go on with similar stories about occupied life: young men, women and children whose entire families have been wiped out, who are now alone angry, humiliated and denied basic human rights – and have come to the place where they would rather die fighting than stay imprisoned or murdered – knowing that if you try to defend yourself or your family – you’re by default labeled a terrorist – that’s how it is there. They say these things as realities they continue to live through.”
Susan Sarandon
On November 10, Academy Award-winning actor Susan Sarandon also lent her voice to the Palestinian cause by joining students and activists in New York’s Bryant Park to call for a cease-fire in Gaza. Before that on November 4, Sarandon shared a tweet that read, “You don’t have to be Palestinian to care about what’s happening in Gaza. I stand with Palestine. No one is free until everyone is free.” She posted another tweet that read, “Hamas has requested that the UN come and inspects their hospitals to prove Hamas is not operating out of them If true Israel is targeting hospitals simply to inspire fear and terror . This is text book definition of what terrorism is.”
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