New York Times Attack Dua Lipa, Hadid Sisters After Their Pro-Palestine Remarks

TEMPO.CO, New York - A full-page advertisement for the New York Times newspaper attacked British singer Dua Lipa and the Hadid sisters, Gigi and Bella Hadid, after all three were vocally supportive of Palestine.

On Saturday, May 22, 2021, the New York Times ran a full-page advertisement attacking Dua Lipa and the Hadid sisters after their pro-Palestinian remarks.

"Bella, Gigi and Dua. Hamas is calling for a second Holocaust. CONDEMN THEM NOW," reads the headline of the ad, quoted from Middle East Eye, May 24, 2021.

The advert features a photo of the three on top of a rocket strike from Hamas, and is accompanied by a long text trying to link the three stars to anti-Semitism, genocide and terrorism.

"Bella, Gigi and Dua must realize that 6 million Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust only 75 years ago and that Hamas' genocide charter publicly calls for the killing of Jews," stated the ad. "Is the ongoing slander against Jews and Israelis on social media perhaps the reason we see Jews being beaten in Time Square?"

The ad, which ran on May 22, 2021 in the main section of the New York Times, described the Lipa and Hadid brothers as mega-influencers who had "accused Israel of ethnic cleansing" and that they have "slandered the Jewish State." [Twitter / Arab News]

Checkpoints were cited in a 213-page Human Rights Watch report last month as evidence that Israel had committed apartheid crimes against Palestinians.

The New York Times advertisement was paid for by The World Values Network, an organization founded and run by Shmuley Boteach, a right-wing American Jewish rabbi notorious for issuing frequent attack ads against figures critical of Israel, The Independent reported.

Bella and Gigi Hadid have a Palestinian father, architect Mohammad Hadid, and have always been vocal about their support for their father's homeland. Dua Lipa is romantically linked with their younger brother Anwar Hadid.

"I absolutely reject the false and gruesome accusations," Dua Lipa said of a full-page ad in a Twitter tweet.

"This is the price you pay to defend Palestinian human rights against the Israeli government whose actions both Human Rights Watch and Israeli human rights group B'Tselem accuse of persecution and discrimination," said Dua Lipa.

The New York Times ad has been criticized by social media users and journalists, who see it as an attempt to silence the pro-Palestinian voices of high-profile figures.

"They are confused and they will try and tarnish anyone who is vocal about Palestinian liberation and human rights louder than ever," tweeted Palestinian writer Jennine Khalik, Middle East Eye reported.

"That won't work. They are still a confused loser," tweeted Khalik.

Prominent Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour re-posted Dua Lipa's statement, while human rights activist Abier Khatib said the singer had broken the chain of intimidation.

"People who support Israeli apartheid rely on slander and intimidate those who speak out for years," wrote Palestinian-American analyst Yousef Munayyer.

"But the truth is, once people start standing up against them, the barrier of fear begins to break and transformational change becomes possible," he said.

Several commentators directed their criticism of the New York Times for publishing the advert in the first place.

"This is Islamophobia, racist oppression," said Pakistani author Fatima Bhutto. "NY Times, you took money to run a harassment campaign against these three young women? It's defamatory and I read it as a threat."

Bella and Gigi Hadid had not yet responded to the New York Times ad that attacked them when this news broke.

Last week, Bella Hadid was seen during a pro-Palestinian march in New York City, and many have asked fashion brands like Dior to cancel their contracts for campaigning in support of Palestine.

The Hadid family has become one of the most outspoken celebrities who have been outspoken in protesting the eviction of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

Bella Hadid was falsely accused by Israel's official Twitter account, which accuses Bella of advocating for Jews to be thrown overboard, after she joined the pro-Palestinian struggle chant "From river to sea, Palestine will be free" during protests in Brooklyn last weekend.

Also Read: AP Slammed for Sacking Pro-Palestine Jewish Reporter

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