Since the start of the latest Gaza war nearly two weeks ago, the hashtag #FreePalestine became the new #BlackLivesMatter.
Thousands, if not millions, of users on Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok were sharing images from the fighting in the Hamas-controlled enclave, accompanied by zero context and of course no mention of terrorism or unprecedented barrages of rockets on Israeli civilians.
The mob mentality is thriving on social media, but we all knew that. What we didn't know is that hundreds of celebrities and influencers with millions of followers would be cluelessly jumping on the bandwagon of misinformation in the so-called fight for justice.
Celebrities on the other side of the world with no knowledge of the ins and outs of the complicated geopolitical situation and influencers whose main claim to fame is modelling underwear all jumped at the chance to virtue signal.
Among the main culprits are models Bella and Gigi Hadid, who headline campaigns for Dior, Maybeline, Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs, among many others. If you're not well versed in Gen-Z world, the pair are daughters of Palestinian-American real estate multimillionaire Mohamed Hadid.
Oh, and they also have 42 and 66 million followers on Instagram, respectively. They have done nothing of value besides be born to a wealthy father who taught them to hate Jews, sorry Zionists.
At the start of the violence in Gaza, Bella Hadid published a host of posts on her Instagram account, full of slogans such as "Free Palestine!" and "End the Occupation!"
These posts were very light on specifics as to how one could "Free Palestine" if it is ruled by a terror group hell-bent on destroying "the Zionist entity".
She even posted a video of herself at a Palestinian rally, shouting "from the river to the sea," which is a widely understood call to annihilate the Jewish state.
One of her posts, however, was particularly disturbing. It was a multi-slide infographic, which labeled Israelis as "colonizers" and "settlers" and was heavy on woke buzzwords such as "ethnic cleansing", "genocide" and "apartheid," all of which are easily debunked with a quick Google search.
But providing context and fact-checking is not for rich influencers who make millions showing off their bodies, something that - ironically - they could be killed for if they lived in either Gaza or the West Bank.
That infographic spread like wildfire. And more clueless celebs followed suit.
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Bella Hadid's anti-Israel post that refers to Israel as 'a group of settlers'
(Photo: Instagram)
UK singer Dua Lipa, who is dating the Hadids' brother Anwar, posted a host of stories condemning Israel for her 60 million plus Instagram followers.
The singer has in the past accused Israelis of being “fake Jews" and claimed Hamas was created by Israeli government to justify "occupation, oppression, ethnic cleansing, and murder".
Canadian singer The Weeknd also accused Israelis of ethnic cleansing by sharing an anti-Israel post in his story. Again, very heavy on buzzwords, very light on specifics or context.
The actors Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo filled their Twitter feeds with out-of- context reposts from Al Jazeera and pro-Palestinian activists.
Ruffalo even posted a short video from riots in the city of Lod showing Jewish extremists throwing stones at a group of Arabs. The problem is that Ruffalo failed to include the part of the video in which Israeli Jew Yigal Yehoshua was beaten so badly by that same group of Arabs that he died a few days later.
And when someone pointed out to the actor in the comments that Hamas is using children as human shields, Ruffalo replied that "fellow human beings" (in this case Hamas) would never do such a thing.
Even late-night talk show hosts Trevor Noah and John Oliver chimed in with their uninformed takes, both suggesting Israel should not retaliate for rocket attacks because they "don't do anything."
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German, Czech and Slovak foreign ministers visit a heavily damaged building in the central city of Petah Tikvah that took a direct hit from a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip
(Photo: AFP)
Oliver further claimed the IDF taking down multi-story buildings in Gaza used by Hamas was a "war crime" (which it isn't), ignoring the fact that firing thousands rockets at civilian population IS an actual war crime. Instead he called the endless waves of strikes on civilians "reprehensible" and moved on.
Noah, meanwhile, clearly harbors anti-Semitic sentiments, based on the host of tweets he deleted from his account years ago when he was named as the host of the Daily Show. In one of the tweets, dating back to 2009, Noah "joked" he almost hit a Jewish kid with his "German car." In another, he made a crude reference to Jewish women that was misogynistic and racist.
Why did all of them decide to share their uneducated opinion with the world? Because they just "couldn't stay silent," which is interesting because they have managed to stay silent about almost every other international conflict.
Children and innocent people are being killed every day in Syria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti and Colombia, just to name a few. But their lives are apparently less important because they don't come with a trendy hashtag.
The countless bombardment of misinformation about Israel preceded outbursts of physical violence against Jewish communities all over the world.
A group of Palestinians attack Jewish diners at LA cafe
According to the Community Security Trust, which monitors the security of the Jewish community in the UK, between May 8-18, the number of officially reported anti-Semitic incidents has increased by a staggering 500%.
Did any of these celebrities and influencers who published, shared and reposted the misinformation about an issue that has no effect on their lives take responsibility for contributing to these attacks? Of course not!
They went back to their comfortable lifestyles in LA, New York, London and wherever, removed from reality and any fallout from their actions.
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Reports of an anti-Semitic attack in New York being posted on Instagram
(Photo: Instagram)
One could dismiss such people as bandwagon jumpers who revel in the herd mentality, but politics is heavily influenced by culture. And this should sound alarm bells.
Meanwhile, the high-profile Jewish celebrities who do speak out, such as actors Michael Rapaport and Debra Messing, get an endless amount of abuse from the pro-Palestinian brigade.
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Michael Rapaport pro-Israel IG post, with actress Sharon Stone leaving a reply
(Photo: Instagram)
Even Israeli movie star Gal Gadot, who posted the most harmless message calling for peace for both nations, received a disproportionate amount of hateful comments, again often anti-Semitic and sexist too.
The warriors for social justice appear to be willing to stand up for any cause except for when a crowd of anti-Semites is chasing down Jews in the middle of Times Square.
"Never Again" is now, and the history will judge them.