The Israeli government just made a public example of Gigi Hadid: 'We see you'

Gigi Hadid has been called out by the Israeli government itself for sharing a message condemning its treatment of Palestinians.

The 28-year-old supermodel, whose father is from Palestine, posted a graphic to her Instagram Story over the weekend, which 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 statement was originally posted by Jewish author Mia Schachter, on 10 October, just three days after Hamas’s unspeakable terrorist attacks in the south of Israel.

Since then, the war between the Islamist militant group and Israel has dramatically escalated, with some 2,800 Palestinians killed in retaliatory air strikes on Gaza, as Hamas continues to hold around 250 hostages.

And whilst countless commentators and public figures have deplored the Israeli response to the 7 October pogroms, the official Instagram account of the State of Israel singled out Hadid’s posts.

Taking a screenshot of her Story, they reposted it to their own with the accompanying message: “There is nothing valiant about Hamas’ massacre of Israelis.

“Condemning Hamas for what it is (ISIS) is not anti-Palestine and supporting Israelis in their right against barbaric terrorists is the right thing to do.”

@stateofisrael/Instagram

The account then tagged the American-Palestinian model, asking her: “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.”

They then ended their thread by posting a photo of a child’s bedroom, stained with blood, adding, “[Gigi Hadid] If you don’t condemn this your words mean NOTHING.”

The mother-of-one, who has long flown the flag for the Free Palestine movement, previously spoke out about the atrocities that befell innocent Israelis in Hamas's brutal ambush, and whose repercussions are now being felt on the Gaza strip.

The Israeli government tagged Gigi Hadid (left) as it shared a harrowing image of one of the 7 October murder scenesGetty Images/@stateofisrael/Instagram

In a carefully crafted statement published to Instagram on 10 October, she wrote: “My thoughts are with all those affected by this unjustifiable tragedy, and every day that innocent lives are taken by this conflict – too many of which are children.”

She then stressed that she feels “deep empathy and heartbreak for the Palestinian struggle and life under occupation” (the West Bank has been occupied by Israeli forces since 1967), which she described as a “responsibility I hold daily.”

However, she said she also feels “a responsibility” to clarify that while she has “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 & does not do any good for the ‘Free Palestine’ movement,” Hadid then insisted.

“The idea that it does has fueled a painful, decades-long cycle of back&forth [sic] retaliation (which no innocent civilian, Palestinian or Israeli, deserves to be a casualty of, and helps perpetuate the false idea that being Pro-Palestine = antisemitic.”

She then conceded that the situation was throwing up “a lot of complex, personal, and valid feelings”, but added: “Every human deserves basic rights, treatment, and security; no matter their nationality, religion, ethnicity, or where they were born.”

Concluding her message, she acknowledged: “I know my words will never be enough or heal the deep wounds of so many, but I pray for the safety of innocent lives, always.”

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.