American supermodel Gigi Hadid has spoken out about the ongoing deadly conflict between Israel and Palestine, describing it as an “unjustified tragedy”. She has expressed her support for Palestine’s struggle while condemning the violence that has resulted from the attacks.
The 28-year-old, who is of Palestinian descent and has been a long-time advocate for the Free Palestine movement along with her sister Bella Hadid, has said she feels a responsibility to her Jewish friends to make it clear that she supports the harm of no Jewish person. She has also said that she believes that being pro-Palestine does not equate to being anti-Semitic.
“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 includes the harm of a Jewish person,” she wrote. Instagram.
“Terrorizing innocent people is inconsistent with and does not benefit the Free Palestine movement. The idea that it does has fueled a painful, decades-long cycle of back-and-forth reprisals (which no innocent citizen can stop). , Palestinian or Israeli, deserves to be victimized) and helps perpetuate the false idea that being pro-Palestine = being anti-Semitic,” she added.
Concluding her statement, mother-of-one Gigi Hadid offered her condolences to all those affected by the conflict and earnestly called for the protection of “innocent lives.”
“If you are in pain, I send you my love and strength, whoever and wherever you are, as I share my condolences today with my loved ones, both Palestinian and Jewish. “There are many complex, personal and valid feelings, but every human being deserves basic rights, treatment and safety, regardless of their nationality, religion, ethnicity or where both of them are located.”
Hadid has said she knows her words won’t be enough to heal the deep wounds of so many, but she always prays for the safety of innocent lives.