On Saturday, conflict broke out between Israeli forces and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which launched a large-scale attack from Gaza into Israeli territory. Amid reports of hundreds of civilians being killed in the attacks and hundreds more dying as Israeli forces strike within Gaza, many celebrities have gone to social media to express their support for Israel, sparking heated debates and criticisms from fans.
Since the conflict broke, several celebrities have posted messages on social media expressing solidarity with Israel, including Amy Schumer, Jamie Lee Curtis and Sarah Silverman; the list has grown as the conflict continues. As TMZ reported, the overwhelming majority of high-profile celebrities who have commented on the confrontation – including Mark Hamill, Madonna, Natalie Portman, Ashley Tisdale and more – have done so in support of Israel.
By contrast, major pro-Palestinian celebrities, such as supermodels Bella and Gigi Hadid – have not publicly commented on the current conflict.
Despite the consensus from the entertainment industry so far, several celebrities have faced backlash for their pro-Israel stances. Most notably, Kylie Jenner shared a post on Instagram from the pro-Israel organization “Stand With Us,” which read in part, “Now and always we stand with the people of Israel!”
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Less than an hour later, however, Jenner deleted the post, which condemned “terrorists” who had “infiltrated Israel from Gaza,” after her comments were flooded with pro-Palestinian messages.
Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot, who is Israeli, has also faced criticism after posting several pro-Israel messages on Instagram, including a picture of the Israeli flag on Sunday with the caption “I stand with Israel.”
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Gadot elaborated in her post: “I stand with Israel you should too. The world cannot sit on the fence when these horrific acts of terror are happening!” She has now limited comments on the post as many of the most prominent comments are retorts such as “Free Palestine and “I stand with Palestine.”
The online backlash likely reflects a growing generational divide in opinions about the Israeli and Palestinian people. A recent Pew Research Center survey shows that older Americans view Israelis more positively than Palestinians, with 68% of Americans aged 50-64 having positive feelings for the Israeli people but only 45% for the Palestinians. For adults under 30, however, 56% have positive feelings for Israelis and 61% for Palestinians. With young people more likely to be active on social media, many of the comments posted online reflect the viewpoints of this younger generation.
Regardless of what has happened on social media, the conflict has continued, with over 1,200 people reported dead as of Monday morning. With Palestinian forces striking targets across Gaza as dozens of Israelis and foreign visitors remain hostages, strong words will likely continue coming from Hollywood and non-celebrities expressing their equally strong feelings about the longstanding conflict and its most recent explosion.
