Dua Lipa And Others Are Spreading Lies About Israel, Which Is Fueling Antisemitism
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Politics and Activism

Dua Lipa And Others Are Spreading Lies About Israel, Which Is Fueling Antisemitism

Dua Lipa has been called out for spreading lies about Israel and there are many others who should also heed this warning.

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Dua Lipa And Others Are Spreading Lies About Israel, Which Is Fueling Antisemitism
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The World Values Network took out a full page ad in The New York Times last week. The ad called out singer Dua Lipa along with models Bella and Gigi Hadid. The three women were called out for spreading lies about Israel and not condemning Hamas. The ad claimed that the misinformation contributed to the rise in the antisemitic attacks we've seen the past two weeks.

A pro-Israel rally took place last Thursday in Times Square. It was one of many pro-Israel rallies which took place across the country.

Pro-Palestinian protesters arrived at the rally and instigated violence. The pro-Palestinian group proceeded to roam the streets of Manhattan after the rally. They engaged in several antisemitic attacks. Jewish people were beat up in the street and called slurs as the protesters drove past them. The protesters also spit on them while they were trying to eat. This came after similar incidents took place in Los Angeles and London.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, there were more than 17,000 tweets with different variations of the phrase "Hitler was right," during the period of May 7-14. There was also a 483% spike in attacks against Jewish people in just ten days during this period.

Some pro-Palestinian activists claim this antisemitism comes from equating Jewish people with the Israeli government. This grossly implies that it would be justified if an Israeli government official were the victim of said attack. Another key form of antisemitism is often left out of their explanation. That is the belief that Israel shouldn't exist. The desire to destroy Israel is further fueled by gross misinformation about the Jewish state.

This is where gaslighting often comes into play. People will say that they're just criticizing the Israeli government's policies. However, beating up a Jewish person in the street isn't "criticizing the Israeli government."

It's also not valid criticism if the things being said aren't true. The phrase, "I stand with Israel," is often misunderstood as well. It doesn't mean standing with Israel against the Palestinians. It means standing with Israel against those who seek to delegitimize its existence.

They often do this by spreading falsehoods. Falsehoods which Dua Lipa and the Hadid sisters broadcast to their millions of followers.

Dua Lipa responded on social media, claiming she is against all forms of racism. She claimed that she is merely defending Palestinian human rights. She cited the recent Human Rights Watch report, accusing Israel of apartheid. She also cited B'Tselem, an Israeli organization which claimed the same thing.

To the surprise of no one, Dua Lipa didn't condemn or even mention Hamas in her statement. And nowhere in her response does she even utter the word "antisemitism." The only time she ever mentions Jewish people is when linking them with Muslims and Christians. This implies that if you're Jewish, you're merely following a religion. This isn't true. It's not just a religion, it's an ethnicity. One can reject their religious upbringing, but they're still Jewish.

Citing the B'Tselem report may not have been a good idea, either. It refers to Israel as "Jewish supremacy," an utterly ridiculous and antisemitic accusation. This idea of Jewish privilege and supremacy harkens back to old antisemitic tropes. The conspiracy theories of antisemitism are loud and clear when listening to a statement like that.

Israel has citizens who are Arab, Asian, Black, and even Palestinian. Yes, there are Palestinians who become citizens of Israel. Those citizens have all the same rights as the country's Jewish citizens. That diversity is even represented in every branch of the Israeli government. All of this proves the apartheid claims by B'Tselem and Human Rights Watch completely wrong.

Yes, there is a border wall surrounding the Palestinian territories. But that is in place as a security measure, not a racist form of segregation. It was put in place after the Second Intifada, which claimed the lives of many Israelis. The suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks had become such a common occurrence in Israel. After the wall was built, the attacks decreased by 84 percent.

It's also important to understand that while Israel controls the West Bank, Gaza is under Hamas control, along with the Palestinian Authority. Palestinians who live in the West Bank can work in Israel. Many of them have jobs in Israel and work alongside Israelis every day. This is because they will receive a higher salary working in Israel. Even with the border wall in place, Palestinians in the West Bank aren't being kept out of Israel. They just have to get past security checkpoints.

None of this points to apartheid. If anything, it points to the opposite. To equate Israel's situation with apartheid is a slap in the face of every Black South African who lived under real apartheid. The "activists" who co-opted the term to further their own hateful agenda should be ashamed of themselves.

They also attempt to link the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to racial injustices that happen here in America. Rashida Tlaib spoke at a pro-Palestinian rally and said, "What they are doing to the Palestinian people is what they continue to do to our Black brothers and sisters here."

The "they" she's referring to might be Israelis, or perhaps she actually meant to say "Jews." Based on her track record, I wouldn't be surprised if she really meant the latter. The point is, however, equating this conflict with American race relations is incorrect. Teen Vogue recently published an article with the same agenda, trying to make Israel out to be the evil, white, privileged oppressor.

The reality of the situation is very different. Perhaps some might think this comparison would get people in the West to better understand the conflict. The problem is, these people are getting the truth about the situation completely wrong. They're also invoking old ways in which antisemitism has operated throughout history.

This is just the 2021 version of it.

Lipa also contributed to the lies being told about Sheikh Jarrah. The property was purchased by the Jewish community in 1875. Shimon Hatzaddik or Simon the Just, is how the area is known to the Jewish people. It's named after the 3rd Century BCE Jewish High Priest, who is also buried there.

Up until 1948, a small community of Jewish people lived in the area. That was when Jordan invaded Jerusalem and evicted all the Jewish families. The Jordanian government then assumed custodianship of the neighborhood and leased this particular property to Palestinian families. This invasion and occupation was illegal, along with the fact that Jordan didn't transfer ownership to the families.

The British legislation on which that Jordanian law is based, states that without transfer of ownership, the original owners' rights have never been extinguished. Following the Six Day War of 1967, a law was passed in Israel which allowed anyone whose property had been seized as enemy property in 1948 to reclaim it. This law also stated that property could only be reclaimed if they could demonstrate proof of ownership.

Since the Palestinian residents were never granted ownership of the property, they couldn't prove any legal transfer of title. So the property was registered to two Jewish groups in 1973. When the Jewish groups sued the Palestinian families for squatting on their property in 1982, Israeli courts ruled in the Palestinians' favor. They determined that though ownership wasn't demonstrated, the families still enjoyed Protected Tenant Status. Therefore, they could not be evicted from the property as long as they paid rent and maintained it.

That decision was mutually agreed upon by both parties, who signed on it. Following this decision, however, some residents stopped paying rent. There were other residents who began carrying out illegal construction on the property. Based on these non-payments and unlawful changes, the trusts began proceedings against those residents in 1993. There have been a series of cases ever since.

In February, the Jerusalem District Court upheld an earlier court decision, which stated if the residents still refused to pay rent, some of them would have to vacate the premises. The tenants in question appealed to the Supreme Court, who has agreed to hear the case. We're currently waiting on that verdict.

When presented with the facts, everything looks to be completely fair. However, Lipa shared a post on her Instagram which misrepresented the case entirely. The infographic made the situation look as if Israel was unfairly removing Palestinian families from their homes. In actuality, these families weren't paying rent.

Dua Lipa also shared an Instagram post which claimed Israelis were "fake Jews" and Hamas was created by Israel. The inaccurate and inflammatory post was merely deleted without any apology. The post in question accused IDF soldiers of mistreating Palestinian children by arresting them. In actuality, these arrests are made because the children are encouraged to act out in violent ways. They throw stones at IDF soldiers, a very dangerous practice that can kill and has claimed the lives of IDF soldiers in the past.

There's a very misleading narrative that claims Israel is responsible for the horrible conditions that Palestinians in Gaza live under. This isn't the fault of Israel. It's the fault of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and several other countries.

Israel sends humanitarian aid to Gaza on a regular basis. They only ever act out of self-defense and warn Palestinian civilians to evacuate areas where they will strike. They target sites where Hamas hides their weapons, which is usually in schools, hospitals, and civilian homes. Israel does everything in its power to avoid civilian deaths.

Yes, there are much more casualties on the Palestinian side. But this is due to Hamas forcing civilians to stay in those areas and be martyrs. An audio clip recently leaked of a phone call between an Israeli soldier pleading with a Palestinian civilian to leave a building. The civilian refused and when the soldier expressed concern for the children, the civilian said he was okay with the children dying.

Hamas doesn't care about their own people. Their only goal is to destroy Israel and kill Jewish people. They openly say this. It isn't a baseless allegation. It's a fact.

The people rallying for "Palestinian liberation" in the streets aren't chanting for Hamas to be dismantled. They're not calling for the Palestinian Authority to finally, after 16 years, allow their citizens to vote in an election. These are the forces that are actually keeping the people of Gaza down. These "activists" don't care about those things. All they want is to focus on Israel.

When you see signs that say, "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" or "anti-Zionist," you must understand what these phrases mean. For starters, "from the river to the sea" stems from horrific language used by Arab leaders in 1948, when Israel was first established. They would proclaim how they will murder every Jewish person and drag their bodies from the Jordan River and dump them into the Mediterranean Sea. Hamas still uses this phrase today.

If someone says they're anti-Zionist, it means they don't believe Israel should exist. Zionism is the belief that Jewish people have the right to self-determination in their indigenous homeland, which is Israel. There has been a long history of the Zionist movement, starting before Israel's establishment and continuing afterwards. However, the meaning of Zionism has always remained the same.

One can be a Zionist and also believe in a state for the Palestinian people. I support a two-state solution and I'm a proud Zionist. It doesn't mean I don't believe in Palestinian self-determination. I absolutely do. I just believe Jewish people should also have that right.

As you can see from the rhetoric prevalent at these pro-Palestinian rallies, they aren't calling for a two-state solution. They're not calling for peace. All they want is to spread misinformation that encourages this belief that Israel should be wiped off the map.

Bella Hadid has proudly marched at these rallies chanting, "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." Perhaps she is ignorant, perhaps she is hateful. Regardless, her words and actions spread vile lies about Israel, which lead to antisemitic attacks.

In fact, one of the people Hadid was marching with was arrested for attacking a Jewish man. After being released, the attacker said he would do it again. This is further proof that this rhetoric is rooted in and furthers antisemitism.

When it comes to understanding a situation like this, a little history goes a long way. It has been proven that Jewish people originated in the land of Judea, now known as modern-day Israel. And this isn't just something written in a holy book. There have been scientific studies which proved this.

The Black Lives Matter Twitter account recently posted a tweet insinuating that Israel is a form of "settler colonialism." This isn't true in the slightest. You can't be settlers or colonizers on land which your people originated from. All language like that does is stoke the flames of antisemitism.

The world Palestine comes from the Hebrew word Plishtim, which means "invaders." When the Romans finally conquered Judea, they renamed the land Palestine, as an insult to the Jewish people. This was the real act of colonization. Different empires have controlled the land throughout history. These included the Byzantines, the Ottomans, and the British. It was never a country or a kingdom. It was always a region controlled by another empire.

Jewish people always maintained a presence in the region and even identified as Palestinian, since they were committed to maintaining their connection to the land. Eventually, a large amount of Jewish people returned to their homeland and established the state of Israel in 1948.

The UN proposed partition of the British Mandate of Palestine, between Israelis and Arabs in 1948. This was a deal Israel accepted, but the Arab League decided to wage war instead. Several Palestinians were displaced as a result, known as "Nakba," or the catastrophe. Many Jewish people were also displaced from the surrounding Arab countries during this time as well.

Israel ended up winning the war. Since then, they proposed several peace offerings to the Palestinian Authority over the years, with no success. The PA has consistently rejected every chance at a two-state solution.

Their rejections have nothing to do with the amount of land that was offered. They reject the offers because the Palestinian Authority doesn't want a two-state solution. They don't want peace. They want Israel destroyed and all Jewish people dead.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded in 1964. This was when the Palestinian national identity and flag were adopted.

The Arab League chose to name their section of the land Palestine, because it could deceive those without historical knowledge. This idea was based on the fact that the land was called Palestine before Israel was established. It could trick people into thinking Israelis were the real colonizers and Palestinians were native to the land.

None of this negates the fact that today, Palestinians are very much a real people with a real national identity. It also shouldn't be dismissed that they too have a very real connection to that land. However, to lie about Jewish people's indigeneity to the land of Israel is wrong and rooted in antisemitism.

There is a big misconception that Israel was established as a response to the Holocaust. However, that isn't true. Long before Adolf Hitler even rose to power, Jewish people yearned to return to their homeland. The phrase, "next year in Jerusalem," is spoken during Passover as a promise that Jewish people will one day return to Israel.

A lot of people claim that since Jewish people experienced the Holocaust, it doesn't mean they have to do the same to another group of people. First of all, this is a form of Holocaust denial by downplaying the severity of that period. What is currently happening in the Palestinian territories is not a genocide or ethnic cleansing. These allegations are akin to blood libel, a classic antisemitic trope.

It is, in no uncertain terms, a form of antisemitim to compare Nazi Germany to what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank.

Celebrities definitely play a part in spreading lies about Israel, but politicians are guilty of it as well. Bernie Sanders wrote an op-ed that was published in The New York Times earlier this month. For starters, he suggests that nobody says Israel shouldn't defend themselves. That is absolutely untrue and Trevor Noah's recent monologue on the situation proves it.

Noah literally said that since Israel is much stronger than Hamas, it shouldn't fight back. He said that since Hamas will never win, why fight back? The reason is because Israel's land will then be destroyed and more civilians will be dead. This argument is made without knowledge of how the Iron Dome works or who started firing at who. Or perhaps this argument is made by people who are upset there aren't more Jewish people dead.

Sanders also implied that Biden isn't helping Palestinians in Gaza and focuses solely on Israel. This is also untrue. Biden supports Israel's right to defend itself, but sends money to Gaza as well. The money is supposed to go to its citizens, but since Hamas controls the area, it most likely goes to them. I wouldn't be surprised if Hamas uses the money to fund their terrorist attacks on Israel.

In the article, Sanders blames Israel for the negative effects the blockade has on civilians in Gaza. What he neglects to mention is the reason for the blockade. Hamas is a terrorist organization that wants Israel wiped off the map and its people dead. Hamas is in control of Gaza, not Israel. Egypt also shares a border with Gaza and they have a blockade enforced too. Yet, Sanders didn't mention the negative effects that particular blockade had on Gaza.

He also forgets that Israel routinely sends humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food and medicine. It's Hamas that prevents citizens from receiving such aid and diverts materials to build weapons. Cement that could've been used to build apartments for refugees were instead used to build terror tunnels. He blames the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza on Israel, not Hamas.

Sanders also perpetuates the lie of the Sheikh Jarrah evictions, claiming they are unfair and unjust. While admitting that rockets fired into Israel from Gaza is wrong, he claims Israel provoked Hamas by ruling to evict Palestinians from their home. Aside from the fact that Sheikh Jarrah isn't located in Gaza, this was a case of people refusing to pay rent. Israel's ruling was in no way an act of provocation.

And even if it was, that is still no reason to carry out violence. There is never a justification for violence. Sanders acts as if Hamas was acting in defense of its own people. This is gaslighting on a whole new level. Hamas started the violence. Israel was the one defending themselves. Make no mistake about it.

To make matters worse, Sanders ended his piece by co-opting the Black Lives Matter movement, writing, "Palestinian lives matter." This is a familiar tactic that the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement uses to infiltrate progressive movements and push their antisemitic agenda. They attempt to equate police brutality experienced by Black Americans to the IDF's treatment of Palestinians.

The fact of the matter is, it is unfair and incorrect to make sense of a conflict in the Middle East by equating it to racial injustice in America. Not everything can or should be viewed through an American lens. Historical knowledge and situational context is needed to understand a conflict as complex as this one. Sanders is hypocritical to call himself a "progressive" when spouting such an ill-informed and false view of the situation.

There's also his so-called "progressive" pal, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. AOC has drafted a resolution to cut US funding to Israel. This is another example of someone who believes Israel shouldn't defend itself. It also looks like Sanders himself has followed her lead. Quite hypocritical if you ask me.

You claim nobody is saying Israel shouldn't defend itself, Bernie? Then why are you introducing a resolution that says just that?

The worst part is there are actually people who claim the spike in antisemitic attacks is due to the US still funding the IDF.

Imagine having that perspective. Imagine telling someone who's getting attacked that it's their people's fault for defending their very existence in their home country. It's almost like victim blaming. I'm infuriated by people like that. I also feel very sorry for people like that. I'm also enraged that Dua Lipa and the Hadid sisters are, intentionally or not, giving them ammunition to amplify their hate.

On the bright side, there have been some positive celebrity statements. Gal Gadot, Kerry Washington, Rihanna, Debra Messing, Kim Kardashian, Mayim Bialik, and Demi Lovato all put out statements calling for peace. Some of them received backlash, which should tell you all about the state of our world. But the point is, good people exist as well. Hopefully, as time goes on, the amount of good in this world will outweigh the bad.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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