Gigi Hadid backtracks on claims Israel is ‘raping and torturing’ Palestinians as she ADMITS she failed to ‘fact check’ inflammatory post – amid mounting pressure on modeling agency to cut ties
Gigi Hadid has publicly backtracked after sharing an Instagram post claiming Israel is “the only country in the world that keeps children as prisoners of war” – a post illustrated with a boy who was stabbed in Jerusalem as a 13-year-old.
Hadid’s post accused Israel of “kidnapping, rape, humiliation, torture and murder of Palestinians.”
On Tuesday, following criticism of her post, the model – whose father is Palestinian and last month compared Israelis to Nazis – apologized for her “mistake”, which she said was careless.
‘It’s important to me to share real stories about the hardships that Palestinians have endured and continue to endure, but this weekend I shared something that I didn’t look at the facts or think deeply about before reposting it ‘ she wrote.
She said she wanted to “show the ways in which international law is being violated by the Israeli government,” and said that a Palestinian child arrested by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) would be treated differently than an Israeli child arrested by the IDF is stopped.
Gigi Hadid, known for her controversial anti-Israel activism, falsely claimed that Israel is the only country holding children as prisoners of war
Gigi Hadid, 28, was spotted heading to Al-Ajami, a Lebanese restaurant in Paris on Tuesday
“Unfortunately, I used the wrong example to make that point, and I regret it,” she said.
The 28-year-old, who was the face of Maybelline and currently fronts Versace’s campaigns, said she condemned violence against all people.
“Wanting freedom and humane treatment for the Palestinians and wanting security for the Jewish people can both be important to the same person – including myself,” she said.
But she then turned to accusing Israel of human rights abuses, highlighting years of abuses by Israel. She did not refer to the October 7 terrorist attack or to the current hostage crisis.
Hadid, who has regularly courted controversy with her inflammatory anti-Israel posts, begged her 80 million followers for forgiveness.
“I understand that the power of my platform comes with enormous responsibility,” she said.
‘I’m human and I make mistakes. But I also hold myself responsible for those mistakes.’
Hadid posted a photo to Instagram falsely portraying Palestinian terrorist Ahmed Manasra as a ‘child prisoner of war’
In the now-deleted post, Hadid shared a photo of Ahmed, who was imprisoned for committing a stabbing in Jerusalem in 2015.
Disturbing footage released by police at the time shows then-13-year-old Ahmed with a knife and his cousin, Hassan Manasra, 15, chasing Israelis in the streets as the innocent civilians run away
Manasra, the “prisoner of war” she promoted, proudly claimed after his attack, “I came here with my cousin to stab Jews.”
Disturbing images released by police at the time show Ahmed, then 13, holding a knife and his cousin, Hassan Manasra, 15, Chasing Israelis in the streets while civilians run away.
They critically stabbed a 13-year-old boy on a bicycle who was leaving a candy store.
Hadid claimed that Ahmed was “kidnapped” by the “Israeli occupation” at the age of 12.
Ahmed was 13 years old at the time and was not kidnapped, but arrested and prosecuted for attempted murder.
He was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison.
While in prison, he attempted to harm himself and others several times.
Hadid’s post received an immediate backlash and has since been deleted.
The post was criticized for spreading false information and increasing anti-Semitism. Users condemned her, with one calling her a “social media terrorist” and another suggesting the Hadid family move to Gaza.
One wrote: ‘She is a social media terrorist and should be punished for spreading false information that increases anti-Semitism.’
Another commented, “The entire Hadid family has blood on their hands.”
Why doesn’t the Hadid family move to Gaza? Yalla,” a third user wrote.
Ahmad was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. While in prison, he attempted to harm himself and others several times. He is pictured here running with Hassan
Photos from the footage of Ahmed and Hassan’s rampage show the boys running
The post was criticized for spreading false information and increasing anti-Semitism
This isn’t the first time Hadid has been criticized for her anti-Israel views.
Hadid was criticized by the Israeli government after she posted a message on her Instagram Story in support of the Palestinian people in October, just weeks after the October 7 terror attack.
Hadid, whose famous father Mohamed Hadid, a real estate developer, is Palestinian, posted a graphic about the war that read: “There is nothing Jewish about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians.”
“Condemning the Israeli government is not anti-Semitic and supporting the Palestinians is not supporting Hamas.”
The Israeli government quickly reversed Hadid’s position, posting a response on their Instagram Story that read: “There is nothing courageous about the mass murder of Israelis by Hamas.
“Condemning Hamas for what it is (ISIS) is not anti-Palestine and supporting Israelis in their fight against barbaric terrorists is the right thing to do.”
The account then directed comments specifically at Hadid, tagging her account and writing, “Have you slept in the last week?
“Or can you just turn a blind eye when Jewish babies are slaughtered in their homes?
“Your silence is very clear about where you stand. We’ll see you.’
Hadid previously shared this message, which angered the Israeli government
The Israeli Instagram account responded to Hadid’s post