Celebrities on the wrong side of the Gaza war

KARACHI: The past week has been plagued with one of the worst humanitarian crisis in Gaza. After continued aggression by Israeli settlers targeted the the Al Aqsa mosque, the third most religious Muslim site, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. The group managed to surpass one of the most well equipped intelligence agencies in the world but the consequences have been dire, with a war being waged against the people of Gaza. In the past six days, in between the constant bombardment which has reduced the Gaza strip to rubble, Israel has also cut off all the electricity, water and fuel supply in Gaza. As of today, the death toll in Gaza has reached over 1000 and rising, with a lot of the casualties being children.

There has been real time coverage of what has been going. However, despite the haunting images flooding social media, it seems as though the west and its celebrities have ended up on the wrong side of the Gaza war. From using images of Gaza under Israel’s pretext to ignoring the atrocities being committed, here are some celebrities who have problematic stances.

Justin Bieber

The singer and his wife Hailey Bieber initially shared a post on their stories which emphasized on the Jewish suffering while also briefly showing disapproval of the apartheid regime.

However, Bieber then decided to share another story which requested prayers for Israel with images of destruction caused by the war. However, what the singer didn’t realize was that the picture he used was of the war torn Gaza Strip after the continuous bombardment. 

Jamie Lee Curtis

Turns out Justin Bieber isn’t the only celebrity who couldn’t differentiate between the aggressor and the victim. Freaky Friday actor Jamie Lee Curtis shared a picture of children fearfully staring up at the sky and captioned it, “TERROR FROM THE SKIES,” accompanied by the Israel flag.

What Curtis did not realize was that the picture she shared was of children from Gaza as they caught on to yet another air strike.

Noah Schnapp

The Stranger Things actor is an example of taking a hardline stance against the victims. Schnapp chose to spread misinformation that Hamas had beheaded children (which the Israeli military denied themselves) and went on to criticize people for showing their support for the people of Palestine, “This is one example of many posts, rallies, and petitions being signed attempting to justify the brutality against these innocent Israeli people.” 

The actor went on to call all those in support of the people of Gaza terrorists, “You either stand with Israel or you stand with terrorism.” 

Kim Kardashian

The reality TV star posted a lengthy statement on her Instagram supporting Israel despite the war they waged on Gaza. The statement read, “A message to my Jewish friends and family. I love you. I support you.” 

She went on to mention her Armenian roots and the genocide in Armenia, “As an Armenian, I am particularly sensitive to these issues because I have been talking about the Armenian Genocide for years, and now after months of blockade with minimal media coverage and no external support, Armenians are the victims of an ethical cleansing themselves in Artsakh.” However, many took to social media to point out the hypocrisy of Kardashian’s statement, considering who played an important hand in the Armenian Genocide.

LeBron James

The NBA star took to social media to condemn Hamas and support Israel, “The devastation in Israel is tragic and unacceptable. The murder and violence against innocent people by Hamas is terrorism. The SpringHill Company family sends our deepest condolences to Israel and the Jewish community.”

However, people were not amused with the statement. As rightfully pointed out, the stance the basketball player took doesn’t align with the views he previously supported. 

Despite the international community agreeing that Israel has been committing war crimes in Gaza, these celebrities clearly haven’t gotten the memo!