Celebrities, both from Israel and abroad, are continuing to post about the attacks on Israelis by Hamas on social media.
Gal Gadot, who posted early in the attack, has added even more posts and stories to her account, asking for donations and support.
One of the most emotional posts came from Lucy Aharish, a Muslim Israeli-Arab television presenter and actress who is married to Jewish Israeli actor Tsahi Halevi (Fauda, Line in the Sand). She posted a story on Sunday to her Instagram in Hebrew, showing a picture of Halevi sitting with their toddler son, that read: “To everyone who asks me, with cursing and blasphemy, I don’t respond. My love, who is more dear to me than anything, went out to defend [the country] and there is no rest."
"My heart is broken, [as] the that the worst possible news about more and more dear children has arrived. The heart crashes at the sight of the horror and the slaughter that has been carried out by animals and sub-humans against the innocent. There can be no forgiveness, no excuse, no defense. I just want to write that I wish those who are wounded a speedy recovery. And to everyone whose family is not with them, I wish faith that they will be reunited soon. And to the hero soldiers, the warriors and the civilians who fight for [our] home, take care of yourselves, each and every one of you, and may you return to your homes whole and safe. To those who have lost loved ones, I share in your sorrow, may the heavens comfort you and may their memory be a blessing.”
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Israeli/American actress Natalie Portman posted on her Instagram account, “My heart is shattered for the people of Israel. Children, woman and the elderly have been murdered and abducted from their homes. I am in horror at these barbaric acts and my heart is pounding with loave and prayer for the families of all affected.” Like many of those posting in support of Israel, she disabled comments on her account.
Israeli actor, Tomer Capone, known around the world for his starring role on the action series, The Boys, posted a story to his Instagram in which he tried to explain to his fans what it’s like to be awakened by a rocket alert siren. Stumbling over his words, he said he had never posted video to Instagram before, but said, “It’s not an alarm clock, it’s a f***ing alarm that sounds like a nuclear, alarm, that sounds like the end of the world is coming.” He went on to detail how Israelis fleeing to their safe rooms were slaughtered by Hamas.
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Actress/director/Jeopardy host Mayim Bialik posted a message on her Instagram account, @missmayim, denouncing the attacks, which read, in part, “There are not words to communicate the immense pain and horror Israel is experiencing as hundreds are dead, thousands are wounded, and kidnapped families are now living all of our worst nightmare.” She called for prayers for peace and for the kidnapped soldiers and civilians, noting that she as family members who are Israeli soldiers, and closed with the words, “Am Yisrael Chai,” in Hebrew.
Two of America’s most influential television creators, David Simon, who made The Wire, and Jenji Kohan, who produced Orange is the New Black, are known for their left-wing views but rarely comment about political issues outside of the US. This time, however, they chose to weigh in. Simon, on his X account, wrote that while he supported the two-state solution, he questioned the idea that “intentionally targeting women and children, or parading the naked body of a female victim on a truck through the streets while men spit on her somehow achieves morality.”
Kohan put up a post and a multi-part Instagram story about the tragedy, one portion of which read, “Murdering Jewish people is not fighting for human rights,” followed by a photo of several Israeli flags.
Celebrities with family ties to Israel speak out
Another well-known left-wing activist, actress/comedian Sarah Silverman, whose sister is a rabbi in Jerusalem, posted on social media about the attacks. A recent story of hers featured CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s interview with a mother whose children were kidnapped by Hamas, and Silverman posted a statement by Iranian-born activist and entrepreneur Mandana Dayani, that read, “Never in my years as an activist, have I seen other activists, upon seeing footage of little girls being killed and dragged through the streets, immediately find the burning need to go on the Internet and justify their deaths. ‘Oh, here all the reasons that girl was burned alive!’
For complete clarity, the only reason you do this, is because you have been made to believe that the killing of Jews can even be justified. Because every civilization has taught that while the life of a Jew is less valuable than your own. It’s the Hitler playbook. Your antisemitism is not unconscious. It is so deeply rooted in your bones and you are so comfortable with it, you are not even able to consider its impact on your friends.”
Comedian/actress Amy Schumer also reposted Dayani’s statement, as well as a quote from Dr. Sheila Nazarian, “If you are silent when terrorists murder Israelis, stay silent when Israel defends itself,” and footage of Israelis being taken prisoner by Hamas at the music festival.
Model Kylie Jenner shared a post on as an Instagram story from @StandWithUs over the weekend that said, “now and always we stand with the people of Israel,” but quickly deleted it in response to criticism, according to reports. Her account, which has 399 million followers, is one of the most popular on Instagram. Now, it features only her usual glamour photos, but the comments on her recent innocuous posts are filled with calls to boycott her products in the Middle East over the now-deleted story. While a few posted comments were supportive of Jenner, some featuring Israeli flags, most showed Palestinian flags and were filled with insults, telling her to stick to posts about cosmetics. Others called her a name which apparently they deem as a supreme insult: “Zionist.”
Another celebrity to take to social media to condemn the massacre of Israelis by Hamas was Bono. The U2 frontman went a step further during a Las Vegas show by U2 on Sunday and spoke out about the hundreds of young victims murdered at an Israeli music festival.
“We sing for our brothers and sisters, who they themselves were singing at the Supernova Succot festival in Israel. We sing for those. Our people. Our kind of people. Music people, playful, experimental people. Our kind of people. We sing for them," said Bono.
He led the crowd in a singalong of the group's hit, "Pride (In the Name of Love)" but changed the opening lyrics to directly reference the killings: "Early morning/October 7/The sun is rising in the desert sky/Stars of David/They took your life/But they could not take your pride."