Israel’s former UN representative, Danny Danon, accused Emma Watson of anti-Semitism after she posted a message on social media in support of Palestinians. The actress shared a photo from a pro-Palestinian rally along with the phrase ‘solidarity is a verb’ to her Instagram followers. The image was accompanied by a quote from scholar Sara Ahmed about the importance of solidarity. However, Danon called her an anti-Semite in response to the post.
Emma Watson was captured on camera as she graced the world premiere of ‘Little Women’ at the Museum of Modern Art in December 2019.
Emma Watson shared a photo on her Instagram account of a demonstration supporting Palestine, captioning it with the phrase ‘actions speak louder than words.’
The image was shared alongside a caption featuring a powerful statement by the renowned intellectual Sara Ahmed, who hails from both Britain and Australia.
Ambassador Danny Danon accused Ms Watson of anti-Semitism, sparking a social media frenzy. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, also expressed his disappointment, with a reference to Harry Potter: ‘In fiction, magic can solve everything, but in reality, it’s not so simple. If only we could use wizarding magic to defeat Hamas and the PA.’ The Instagram post in question has gone viral, with over a million likes and 101,000 comments. Some people believe that the Israeli officials may have overreacted and misinterpreted the situation as anti-Semitic.
Gilad Erdan, the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, expressed his disappointment on Twitter regarding the photo.
Alex Sobel, the Labour MP for Leeds North West, criticized Likud for misrepresenting Antisemitism, stating that it does not benefit the Jewish Diaspora.
Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible Project, condemned Mr. Danon’s tweet for using antisemitism as a tool to silence expressions of support for the Palestinian people in bad faith.
Emma Watson recently reunited with her Harry Potter co-stars to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the franchise’s launch with The Philosopher’s Stone, missing the presence of late icons like Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, and Helen McCrory.
Discussing the reunion without their departed colleagues, Watson expressed her joy at being back but acknowledged the absence of Helen, Alan, and Richard, whom they had expected to be there for a longer period.
In October, Israeli officials criticized author Sally Rooney for allegedly hindering peace in the Middle East by declining an offer to have her latest book translated into Hebrew.
Sally Rooney, a 30-year-old author, was approached by Modan, an Israeli publisher, to translate her latest work, ‘Beautiful World, Where Are You’. However, Rooney reportedly declined the offer. The acclaimed Irish writer explained her decision was based on her support for a cultural boycott of Israel due to their treatment of Palestinians. She emphasized that her refusal to work with Modan was a show of solidarity with the Palestinian people in their fight for freedom and equality. Israeli officials responded by criticizing Rooney’s stance, arguing that literature should be used to encourage dialogue and that refusing to engage in conversation hinders progress and promotes the suppression of opinions.