Gigi Hadid is being blasted by the Israeli government for supporting Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas conflict, with the heated social media exchange stunning users.
In an Instagram Story uploaded on Monday, @stateofisrael shared a screenshot of the 28-year-old model’s recent post criticizing the Israeli government.
“There is nothing Jewish about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians,” she wrote. “Condemning the Israeli government is not antisemitic and supporting Palestinians is not supporting Hamas.”
In response, @stateofisrael wrote a different version of her statement, using the same font and wording structure.
“There is nothing valiant about Hamas’ massacre of Israelis,” the statement reads. “Condemning Hamas for what it is (ISIS) is not anti-Palestine and supporting Israelis in their fight against the barbaric terrorists is the right thing to do.”
Alongside the statement, @stateofisrael wrote a direct reply to Hadid that read: “Have you been sleeping the past week? Or are you just fine turning a blind eye to Jewish babies being butchered in their homes? Your silence has been very clear about where you stand. We see you.”
In its final post directed to Hadid, @stateofisrael shared a photo of children’s toys and clothing covered in blood, with blood also smeared on the floor.
“If you don’t condemn this your words mean nothing,” the caption for the horrific image read.
Newsweek reached out by email to Hadid and the Israeli government for comment.
Social media users reacted strongly to the posts, with X (formerly Twitter) user niesa wondering: “Why are they targeting her.”
Viviana agreed, writing: “So weird how concerned israel is about gigi hadid’s stance when they’re actively in a war right now…”
“Am I reading this correctly?” asked Nic.
“A country having social media beef with a celebrity is kinda pathetic,” wrote Roy.
“An official government account calling out a celebrity is absolutely deranged,” wrote Olivia Julianna, while Meech called the post “very Hunger Games-esque.”
Hadid, a well-known fashion model, is the daughter of Palestinian-American real-estate developer Mohamed Hadid, 74. He was born in Nazareth, Israel, but his family fled their home in 1948 during the Arab-Israeli war. They became refugees in Syria before settling in America, where the architect began his career.
Both Gigi Hadid and sister Bella Hadid are vocal supporters of the Palestinians. When news of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel broke, Gigi Hadid took to Instagram to call the conflict an “unjustifiable tragedy.”
“Every day that innocent lives are taken by this conflict—too many of which are children,” she wrote. “While I have hopes and dreams for Palestinians, none of them include the harm of a Jewish person.”
Although Bella Hadid has yet to publicly discuss the ongoing conflict, she has previously spoken out on behalf of Palestinians, and her advocacy has cost her modeling jobs.
“I had so many companies that stopped working with me. I have friends that completely dropped me,” she told journalist Noor Tagouri on the Rep podcast in 2022.
Update 10/16/23, 4:32 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional background and information.