Ben-Gvir called Hadid an “Israeli hater” and accused her of posting only a segment of the interview “with the intention of making me appear racist and evil”.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir lashed out at supermodel Bella Hadid on Friday after she criticized his recent televised remarks about Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
In an interview on Wednesday with Israel’s Channel 12, Ben-Gvir argued that his right to freedom of movement, as a Jewish settler, is more important than the same right for Palestinians.
“My right, the right of my wife and my children to move around Judea and Samaria, is more important than freedom of movement for the Arabs,” Ben-Gvir said, using the biblical name for the West Bank.
"My right, my wife's right, my children's right for safe streets in Jedea&Samarea (West Bank), is more important than the freedom of movement of Arabs"
Ben-Gvir, the minister of national security of Israel. An open supremacist. On air. Main news. The anchor was not shocked. pic.twitter.com/FbZIDffCuU
— Sally Abed סאלי עבד سالي عبد🟣 (@sally_abed) August 23, 2023
Hadid, a world-famous supermodel and social media influencer of Palestinian descent, shared an excerpt from Ben-Gvir’s interview on Instagram on Thursday, writing:
“In no place, no time, especially in 2023 should one life be more valuable than another’s. Especially simply because of their ethnicity, culture, or pure hatred.”
In response, Ben Gvir wrote in a post in Hebrew on Friday: “I saw that yesterday you took an excerpt from an interview I gave and put it out to the whole world to try and portray me as racist and backward,” stating that “I don’t apologize or take back my comments. I will repeat them 1,000 times.”
Ben-Gvir called Hadid an “Israeli hater” and accused her of posting only a segment of the interview “with the intention of making me appear racist and evil”.
Hadid is well-known for her advocacy for Palestine and her connection to her Palestinian heritage.
(PC, WAFA)
