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Bella Hadid was put on full blast online by an Israeli minister. The supermodel was labeled an "Israel hater" by Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's far-right national security minister. Gvir's retort came after the supermodel had initially blasted the minister for his allegedly racist comments towards Palestinians in an Israeli TV segment.
The supermodel has frequently expressed her love for Palestine in the past. When the Israel-Palestine dispute and the Free Palestine online wave were at a boiling point, Bella had been very vocal in her support for Palestine. She has also expressed her love for her country countless other times.
Bella Hadid vs. Ben Gvir
In Israel's West Bank, Palestinians are subject to many restrictions imposed against them by Israel. For a long time, they have fought against these restrictions in order to expand their limited self-rule into a free state. Earlier this week, on Wednesday, August 23, Ben Gvir told the Israeli television channel, N12 News:
"My right, my wife's right, my children's right to travel on the roads of Judea and Samaria is more important than the right to movement for Arabs,"
He added:
"Sorry, Mohammad, but that’s the reality."
This statement was much maligned and drew ire from both Israelis and Palestinians and allegations of the ultranationalist Jewish Power party's foray into Jewish Supremism only grew. The US State Department condemned the minister's statements by calling it, "inflammatory" and of an "all racist rhetoric."
The very next day, Bella Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, called out the minister on Instagram. The supermodel posted a clip of the minister's comments on her Instagram story and wrote:
"In no place, no time, especially in 2023 should one life be more valuable than another’s. Especially simply because of their ethnicity, culture, or pure hatred."
Bella's comments were not received very kindly by Ben Gvir, who posted a tweet on X where he lambasted the supermodel for allegedly trying to make him look like a racist.
The minister stated:
"Israel hater Bella Hadid, good morning."
He added:
"I saw yesterday that you took a segment of mine from an interview, and distributed it to the whole world in order to make me out to be racist and dark."
The minister invited the supermodel to Kiryat Arba, to see, according to him, how innocent Jews were murdered and the threats received by his wife and children from "terrorists." He doubled down on his statements by proclaiming:
"I'll say them another 1,000 times too."
Bella Hadid has always been a vocal supporter of Palestine
Bella Hadid, whose full name is Isabella Khair Hadid is the daughter of Palestinian real estate developer, Mohamed Hadid. She has always been very vocal about her support and love for Palestine. GQ magazine labeled her as "the most outspoken American celebrity advocating on behalf of the Palestinian people."
One of the pinned posts on Bella's Instagram profile is one that contains an Al Jazeera segment that details the struggle of the Nakba survivors. She detailed in the post caption:
"The feeling is just sad. Sad that this is another year of babies being born in an occupation. Another year of pain."
"Sad that my dad keeps aging another year, just to watch his people go through the same pain he experienced. Sad."
The caption further reads:
"Free Palestine forever. I am so proud to be Palestinian."
Back in 2021, the supermodel marched the streets of New York with thousands of protestors, who all showed their support for Palestine, in their conflict against Israel. She posted videos and pictures of the march, under which she detailed:
"The way my heart feels.. To be around this many beautiful, smart, respectful, loving , kind and generous Palestinians all in one place..."
She proclaimed:
"It’s free Palestine til Palestine is free!!!"
Looking back even further, Bella was part of a pro-Palestine protest in front of the US embassy in London, way back in December of 2017. This demonstration was a reaction to then-US president Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel.
Bella Hadid was reportedly driving back from a Tag Heuer event when she saw the protest and nonchalantly decided to join it. Just a couple of days before the protest, Bella had put out an Instagram post that detailed the "unjust" treatment of Palestinian people.
