Popstar Dua Lipa criticized World Values Network head Rabbi Shmuley Boteach this past week over comments the singer made on Israel as well as her support for Palestinians during the Israel-Gaza violence that broke out two weeks ago.
Boteach published an advertisement in The New York Times criticizing Lipa, in addition to other major celebrities such as Palestinian-American models Bella and Gigi Hadid, as influencers who support the message that Israel engages in ethnic cleansing and has vilified Israel.
“This is the price you pay for defending Palestinian human rights against an Israeli government whose actions in Palestine both Human Rights Watch and the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem accuse or persecution and discrimination,” Lipa wrote in a social media post.
Lipa was making reference to a damning Human Rights Watch report that strongly criticized Israeli authorities and accused Israel of “committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution,” which came off the heels of a B'Tselem report that accused Israel of practicing apartheid.
The popular singer said that Boteach's organization is “shamelessly using my name to advance their ugly campaign with falsehoods and blatant misrepresentation of who I am and what I stand for,” according to the Associated Press.
Lipa is among numerous celebrities to speak out on the recent violence between the IDF and Gaza-based terrorist organizations, with some expressing support for Israeli actions and other accusing Israel of apartheid.