Actress and television presenter Rotem Sela posted a photo of a man in a burned-out synagogue in Lod, saying, “I can only try to imagine what you are going through. The fear, anxiety and emotional load must be unbearable. My heart goes out to you, and like the rest of the country I hope the peace will come soon. In the meantime I strengthen you and send a big big big hug.
While few Israeli stars ventured into shelters in the South, many posted photos of what they were going through at their Tel Aviv-area homes. Actress Yuval Scharf and singer Eden Ben Zaken posted photos of rockets and of themselves and their loved ones in shelters, as did stand-up comedian Nadav Abuksis.The internationally popular hip-hop duo Static and Ben El went from posting TikTok videos of fans from around the world dancing to their hit “Shake Ya Boom Boom” to clips of the Tel Aviv night sky lit up by rockets, and messages with the hashtag #IsraelUnderAttack, with dizzying speed.Singer Netta Barzilai posted a message in English to her fans alongside a photo of the rockets, for people to educate themselves about the situation, showing footage, saying she was too hysterical to post more.Lior Raz, the taciturn action star of Fauda, posted an Instagram story, stating simply, “I support Israel’s right to defend itself.”Perhaps the most conciliatory message of all came from Lucy Aharish, an Arab television personality who is married to Tsahi Halevi, a Jewish actor. She posted a photo of herself with radio presenter Jackie Levy, with whom she has often disagreed, calling him “my brother.”She wrote that “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies,” and called on her followers to fight all terrorism. She and her husband had spent the night in a shelter with their newborn son, she said, and criticized extremists on all sides, concluding by reiterating: “Today, more than any other day, Jackie is my brother.”
Actor Avi Avni lashed out on Instagram and Facebook at Israeli/American actress Natalie Portman, with whom he appeared in Amos Gitai’s 2005 film, Free Zone. Posting photos of the two of them together, he wrote, “Not My Friend Anymore” and “Not Our Friend Anymore.” He confirmed that this was in response to Portman’s reposting a several-screen message from actress Viola Davis about the Sheikh Jarrah situation, which Portman has since removed from her Instagram account. He criticized the actress at length, both for the Sheikh Jarrah post and for her previous criticism of Israel, notably when she refused to appear with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the Genesis Prize in 2018.
Supermodel Bar Refaeli posted about the crisis on Instagram, posting a clip of actress Noa Tishby, who has just written a book, Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth, condemning the rocket attacks from Gaza, with Refaeli adding, “This is exactly the point.” She also added a photo of fathers cradling their newborns in a bomb shelter.Nazareth-born actress Maisa Abd Elhadi – who starred in Hulu’s Baghdad Central and Sameh Zoabi’s Tel Aviv on Fire – was injured after allegedly being shot by police during a demonstration on Sunday in Haifa. She had been protesting the Sheikh Jarrah expulsions, and photos of her in the back of an ambulance were widely shared on social media.Elhadi, who will appear in Hany Abu-Assad’s upcoming feature Huda’s Salon, posted on Instagram that she was grateful to everyone “who helped me and took care of me,” adding that she was “alright, but I was injured on my leg.”In a second post, she said she had been “injured by the occupation’s bullets.” She later reposted stories saying she had been injured by live ammunition.Daily Show host Trevor Noah released a short clip of himself talking about the conflict and acknowledged that the issue is “contentious” and that anything he said was likely to upset one side or the other.A few minutes into the clip, he focused on the fact that Israel is far more powerful than Gaza, asking the question: “So what’s the right response? Everyone has a different answer to the question, and I’m not trying to answer the question, nor do I think I’m smart enough to solve it. All I’m asking is: When you have this much power, what is your responsibility?”Earlier, he compared outdated death tolls on each side, indicating that he felt Israel was hitting back too hard at Gaza.
Frequent critics of Israel, actor Mark Ruffalo and musician Roger Waters, posted on social media to condemn Israel’s actions.Israel and Palestine. Let’s talk about it. pic.twitter.com/prv6Z7TnoL
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) May 12, 2021
Models Gigi and Bella Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, posted quotes such as one by an artist, saying, “You Will Not Erase Palestine.”Singer Dua Lipa, who is reportedly dating their brother, Anwar, posted similar messages.Bella also posted a comic strip purporting to explain the situation.The musician The Weeknd posted a message to “support Jerusalem” as a nod to the families in Sheikh Jarrah.A note from Roger.It’s official ISRAEL is an APARTHEID STATE. Check out SHEIKH JARRAH GENOCIDAL HOUSE CLEARINGS. pic.twitter.com/8X3VFy4Igi
— Roger Waters (@rogerwaters) May 7, 2021
Activists Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg posted carefully worded messages criticizing violence against children in Jerusalem, without going into any depth about the conflict.Tel Aviv resident Quentin Tarantino has yet to weigh in on the current hostilities.In early 2020, he spoke to Yediot Aharonot about living with missile strikes from the Gaza Strip and said, “I’m not scared at all. Like everyone else here, I don’t really notice it.”But now that he is a father – his son with singer/model Daniella Pick was born in February 2020 – maybe he has started taking the attacks more personally. His fans will have to wait and see.