Gigi Hadid And Bella Hadid Threatened Over Support For Palestine
It’s not uncommon for celebrities like Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid to weigh in on world topics. Especially when they
Ellie Mason
It’s not uncommon for celebrities like Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid to weigh in on world topics. Especially when they have a vested interest, like the Palestinian-American models do. But speaking their mind has turned into a nightmare for the duo, along with the rest of their family. Because now, they are receiving threats for speaking out in support of their father’s homeland. It’s an increasing problem that has escalated to the point of tragedy for one Chicago family already.
6-Year-Old Killed For Simply Being Palestinian
We are shocked and disturbed to learn that a landlord in Chicago expressing anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian views broke into a Muslim family's apartment and attacked them with a knife, injuring the mother and killing her 6-year-old son, Wadea Al-Fayoume. @cairchicago will hold a… pic.twitter.com/N0ILuevq4n
— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) October 15, 2023
The internet is currently a hotbed of opinions over what’s happening between Israel and Palestine. The recent outbreak of violence started when Palestine’s extremist regime, Hamas, launched an attack on Israel. Since then, the conflict has escalated into an open war between the two countries. Tensions long bubbling just under the surface boiled over, and now the world seems divided into two: those who support Israel, and those who support Palestine. The truth of the matter is, of course, a lot more complicated than a black-and-white either/or issue.
But you might not know that if you read the internet. Divisive and extremist rhetoric has taken over the online world, and it’s spilling over into podcasts, radio shows, and other forms of non-network media. And people are starting to react to the divisive rhetoric.
71-year-old Joseph M. Czuba is a landlord in Plainfield Township, Illinois. While listening to conservative media, according to his wife, Czuba became “heavily interested” in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Czuba then confronted some of his tenants, including 32-year-old Hanaan Shahin who was born in the West Bank, and her 6-year-old son, Wadea Al Fayoume. The landlord’s wife said that Czuba, “believed that they were in danger and that (Shahin) was going to call over her Palestinian friends or family to harm them.”
In a vicious attack that has been labeled a hate crime, Czuba stabbed Shahin over a dozen times. But it was little Wadea who bore the brunt of his violence. Wadea was stabbed 26 times and died after succumbing to his injuries. In accordance with Muslim tradition, Wadea was buried as soon as possible. Which meant that his mother, still hospitalized for her wounds, couldn’t even attend her child’s funeral.
Shahin and her husband have lived in the US for about a decade, and Wadea was born in the US. But because they are Muslim, Czuba believed they were a threat. Czuba is being charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of a hate crime, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Gigi Hadid And Bella Hadid Receive Threats Over Support For Palestine
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That kind of violence hasn’t stopped at an isolated incident. All across the world, people who support one side or the other say they fear for their lives. Yet anti-Muslim hatred runs deep in the United States, where it seemingly waits for any excuse to burst to the surface.
That appears to be the case with Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid. The two, whose family is from Palestine, have been targeted with threats for speaking in support of their father’s homeland. Ironically, Gigi and Bella’s Palestinian father, Mohamed Hadid, was born in Nazareth, Israel. This goes to show just how intertwined the two regions are, with Palestinians and Israelis born on both sides of the borders.
Recently, Gigi released a statement calling for a Free Palestine. In the statement, she cautioned that a free state of Palestine does not require harm against Jewish people. She condemned violence against Israel and pled with people to consider the right of Palestine to exist free from outside influence. It was praised online as a “compassionate” response to the matter. But not everyone sees it that way. Through social media, email, and their phones, all members of the Hadid family have been threatened over the past few days. Israeli officials themselves have targeted the Hadids, suggesting they don’t care about Jewish babies “being butchered.” TMZ reports that they have all been forced to change their numbers, and Mohamed is considering going to the FBI over the threats.
While they have only been words so far, anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States are nothing new. And in the new world of internet wars, it seems that there’s no room for nuance or compassion. People speaking for both sides of the conflict now say they fear they will be the target of violence. Violence that already took the life of an innocent six-year-old, halfway across the world from where Israelis and Palestinians are dying over the newest war.